The Dreamer and The Protector
by Noel Ardnek
Summary: Annabelle and Ophelia Greer, they've been outsiders their whole lives. Their only friends are the Pevensie's so what will happen when they enter the world of Narnia, which has been plagued by eternal winter without Christmas. Edmund/OC and Peter/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Yay! This is my second Chronicles of Narnia but this time it will be a golden age story and both Edmund and Peter will have their girls. **

**I'll do another 3****rd**** person POV. I'll do my best to write this correctly. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the CON. I own my OC's and love all of them equally. **

**Enjoy! : )**

There are many stories in the world. Those involving great heroes or brave heroines. Then there are those stories where the greatest heroes come in small and unexpected packages. One such case was the story of Ophelia and Annabelle Greer.

You know that saying opposites attract. Well Ophelia and Annabelle are a perfect example. They are only half sisters because they only share the same mother. Not long after Ophelia was born her father left her and her mother. Her mother, Moira Fell, later met a young Englishman by the name of Edward Greer. Her beauty caught his eye but it was her spirit and strength that had won him over. Moira Fell was not a woman to be taken lightly, as he learned the hard way. When Ophelia's father left it hurt them both deeply, especially Moira.

Edward did the best he could for them. And let me tell you Moira back then was as stubborn as a mule. She wouldn't accept help from anyone. And when he offered assistance he thought she was going to kill him. But no matter how many times she tried to threaten him, or how many times she tried to follow through, Edward stuck around. Eventually she warmed up to him and they saw more and more of each other. Then when he asked her to marry him she said yes, after screaming while jumping up and down. And Ophelia seemed to like him not just because he provided for them but also because he was the father figure she needed. She is such a special girl. Tough as nails and beautiful, just like her mother. Though somewhat of a tomboy she always had a tender heart for children. This is where Annabelle came in.

When Ophelia was 2 years old Moira gave birth to little Annabelle. Ophelia loves Annabelle. That is as simple as I can put it. It's like she has this natural urge to protect her baby sister, not that her parents ever complained. But Ophelia tends to feel like she needs to do everything herself.

Annabelle also loves her sister but she is very timid and shy. This is how they are different. Ophelia is strong and brave and makes herself heard while Annabelle is shy and withdrawn around many people. Annabelle is the dreamer, Ophelia is the protector. Though their lives were changed when Edward Greer left the world of the living.

No one saw it coming. Edward was pulling out of the driveway, waving to his family, when a car rounded a blind corner and that was the end of that. Over the years the Greer's changed and aged into different people.

Annabelle hasn't spoken since that day and has remained a mute. The other children make fun of her when Ophelia isn't around and because of her shyness she doesn't fight them with fists or words.

Ophelia doesn't have many friends because not only do other children make fun of her for being Scottish, but also because she's afraid they'll leave her like I did. If they make fun of her she fights back, whether with fists or words she keeps them at a distance.

And Moira never dated again. As of yet she has ceased to cry or feel emotions of grief when she sees Annabelle. She always tells Annabelle that she looks like her father, and how she used to talk like him. And she has become extra vigilant in the girls protection and care, rarely letting Annabelle out of the house or Ophelia to go out with boys she didn't know, which was few.

The Pevensie's were the Greer's saving grace. Such wonderful people. They had been neighbors of the Pevensie's since Annabelle was born but they had never made a connection to them until Edward's death. Helen Pevensie consoled Moira to the best of her ability and her children became Ophelia and Annabelle's friends. Though Ophelia connected more with Helen's oldest children-Peter and Susan-while Annabelle became friends with Helen's youngest-Edmund and Lucy. You could see that the Pevensie children were very close to my girls. And when someone tried to make fun of them they would step in. In one case when a boy called Ophelia a stupid Neanderthal, that Peter boy punched him so hard his nose bled. And Annabelle has certainly taking a liking to that Edmund boy, following him around obediently. Though that sometimes ends them both up in trouble.

All their destinies were entwined on that one day in London when the bombs fell.

Annabelle had just gotten to sleep after Ophelia had told her about the Pied Piper of Hamlin when the sounds of explosions and bombs echoed throughout the city. Ophelia woke up and immediately ran to Annabelle's room where she was clutching her favorite teddy bear Sir Edward. Wonder where she got the name. Annabelle was crying but as usual no sound escaped her lips.

"Annabelle, come on!" Ophelia screamed over the sirens. Annabelle was scared stiff so Ophelia had to carry her out. Keep in mind that Ophelia is very strong physically and mentally, and also Annabelle is small and very light so it was relatively easy to carry her out. Moira joined the girls and since they didn't have a shelter of their own they ran to the Pevensie's. They had joined the Pevensie's and were running to the shelter when that Edmund boy shouted "Wait! Dad!" and ran back into the house. Annabelle watched in horror but did not make a sound.

"Edmund no!" Helen shouted when she saw what happened.

"I'll get him!" Peter shouted running after his brother. The sirens continued blaring.

"Peter come back!" Helen shouted again.

"Pete, get back here!" Ophelia shouted but when she saw that he couldn't hear her she ran inside the shelter with Annabelle, the Pevensie girls and Moira.

"Ed! Come here! Edmund! Get down!" Peter screamed pushing his brother down just as the windows exploded and shattered into pieces. "Come on, you idiot, run!" he grabbed his brother who desperately clutched the picture of his father. As the engines to the planes droned the boys ran to the shelter and Helen shouted "Come on!"

Peter pushed Edmund in and he fell to the ground. Annabelle reached out to him to see if he was fine but Ophelia kept her close. Peter began shouting "Why can't you think of anyone but yourself? You're so selfish! You could've got us killed!"

"Stop it!" Helen ordered then turned to Edmund who was breathing heavily and holding his father's picture as if his life depended on it. Annabelle wiggled out of Ophelia's embrace and went to Edmund's side, rubbing his back. She understood that he only wanted something of his father with him, just like she had with her teddy bear. Edmund's mother and Annabelle comforted him as he cried.

"Why can't you just do as you're told?" Peter asked incredulously and Edmund glared at him. Peter shut the door, muffling the sounds of the explosion. Annabelle was shivering not because of the cold but because of fear.

"What's wrong Anna? Are you scared?" Ophelia asked concerned. Annabelle slightly nodded her head and Ophelia pulled her into a hug, knowing the remedy for her worries.

"Well if you like I can tell you another story. Would you like that?" Ophelia asked and Annabelle nodded again. Her stories, no matter how dark or light, made her feel safe.

"Not the stories again." Edmund complained.

"Shut it." Peter barked and he backed off.

"Can you tell us all a story?" Lucy asked.

"Of course. Which one do you want this time?" Ophelia asked in general and Lucy announced "Tell us about Little Red Riding Hood!"

"Good ending or bad ending?" Ophelia asked and Lucy said "Good!" while Edmund said "Bad."

"Hmm…Annabelle what do you think? Good ending or bad ending? Your choice." Ophelia said and Annabelle thought it over before pointing to Edmund.

"Okay we'll go with bad ending. Sorry Susan." Ophelia apologized because she knew it would be Susan's job to calm down Lucy later.

"Just get on with the story." Susan said frustrated.

Ophelia cleared her throat and began _"__Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her, 'Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter.'"_

"_Little Red Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village."_

"_As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, "I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother."_

_"Does she live far off?" said the wolf_

_"Oh I say," answered Little Red Riding Hood; "it is beyond that mill you see there, at the first house in the village."_

_"Well," said the wolf, "and I'll go and see her too. I'll go this way and you go that, and we shall see who will be there first."_

_The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path, and the little girl took a roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and gathering bouquets of little flowers. It was not long before the wolf arrived at the old woman's house. He knocked at the door: tap, tap._

_"Who's there?" the grandmother called._

_"Your grandchild, Little Red Riding Hood," replied the wolf, copying her voice; "who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter sent you by mother."_

_The good grandmother, who was in bed, because she was somewhat ill, cried out, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up."_

_The wolf pulled the bobbin, and the door opened, and then he immediately fell upon the good woman and ate her up in a moment, for it been more than three days since he had eaten. He then shut the door and got into the grandmother's bed, expecting Little Red Riding Hood, who came some time afterwards and knocked at the door: tap, tap._

_"Who's there?"_

_Little Red Riding Hood, hearing the big voice of the wolf, was at first afraid; but believing her grandmother had a cold and was hoarse, answered, "It is your grandchild Little Red Riding Hood, who has brought you a cake and a little pot of butter mother sends you."_

_The wolf cried out to her, softening his voice as much as he could, "Pull the bobbin, and the latch will go up." _

_Little Red Riding Hood pulled the bobbin, and the door opened._

_The wolf, seeing her come in, said to her, hiding himself under the bedclothes, "Put the cake and the little pot of butter upon the stool, and come get into bed with me."_

_Little Red Riding Hood took off her clothes and got into bed. She was greatly amazed to see how her grandmother looked in her nightclothes, and said to her, "Grandmother, what big arms you have!"_

_"All the better to hug you with, my dear."_

_"Grandmother, what big legs you have!"_

_"All the better to run with, my child."_

_"Grandmother, what big ears you have!"_

_"All the better to hear with, my child."_

_"Grandmother, what big eyes you have!"_

_"All the better to see with, my child."_

_"Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!"_

_"All the better to eat you up with."_

_And, saying these words, this wicked wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood, and ate her all up._

By the time Ophelia had finished Lucy was shaking a bit and Annabelle slightly regretted picking Edmund's ending, since she was hugging Sir Edward rather tightly.

"You know the moral of the story? Children, especially attractive, well bred young ladies like you Annabelle, and you too Lucy, should never talk to strangers, for if they should do so, they may well provide dinner for a wolf. I say "wolf," but there are all kinds of wicked wolves in the world. There are also those who are charming, quiet, polite, and sweet, who pursue young women at home and in the streets. And unfortunately, it is these gentle wolves who are the most dangerous ones of all." Ophelia said.

"But why? Why are the sweetest ones the most dangerous if they're so sweet?" Edmund asked.

"Because it's the wolves that don't seem dangerous who are the most deadly. Now I think it's time you try to get some sleep." Moira said and Helen nodded. Annabelle shook her head and pointed to Lucy.

"Another story?" Ophelia asked and Annabelle nodded pointing to Lucy. "With a happy ending?" Annabelle nodded, hoping this would make Lucy feel better. "Okay, as apology to Lucy, I think Lucy should pick the next story."

"Okay…umm…I can't pick. Annabelle, what do you think?" Lucy asked but regretted it when Susan scolded her and Annabelle had no choice but to remain silent. Then Annabelle thought something up. She crawled over to one of the corners and took out a box. She blew the dust off of the box and opened it to reveal a worn old book and opened it up to the table of contents. It wasn't even an official story book. It was the one that the children made with their father by tying together the pages of different stories that he had collected from his trips around the world and the table of contents was written in his hand.

"Dad's old book? How did you find it?" Ophelia asked but Annabelle ignored her, skimming down the table and then turning the page until she found the story she was looking for. Annabelle handed the book to Ophelia pointing to the title of that page.

"The Ugly Duckling? Nice choice." Ophelia complimented and then she read the story of the Ugly Duckling until the children fell asleep, this time with better dreams.

While the children slept Moira and Helen decided that it would be best to send them to the countryside, and if possible arrange for them to all be together so that they don't feel so isolated.

The next day inside the train station there was much chattering going on from families who were departing.

"Keep these on at all times. You understand? Don't talk to strangers and don't wander off. Annabelle I want you to stay close to your sister." Moira instructed and Annabelle nodded, clutching Sir Edward.

"You need to keep this on, darling. All right? You warm enough?" Helen told Lucy who also nodded. "Good girl." The mothers made sure the children's passes were tightly secured and Edmund looked at a poster of the evacuation.

"If Dad were here, he wouldn't make us go." Edmund complained.

"If Dad were her, it'd mean the war was over and we wouldn't have to go." Peter snapped.

"You will listen to your brother, won't you, Edmund?" Helen asked and she tried to kiss him on the cheek but he turned away. While Helen hugged Peter she whispered "Promise me you'll look after the others. Including Ophelia and Annabelle?"

"I will Mum." Peter promised.

"Good. Ophelia and Annabelle are all Moira have. She can't lose them." Helen whispered, increasing the importance.

"Ophelia, watch over Annabelle. She needs you." Moira whispered while embracing Ophelia.

"I will Mum." Ophelia answered giving the same reply as Peter.

"And take care of yourself and that book. Annabelle needs you and those stories." Moira added and Ophelia nodded hugging her even tighter. Then Moira crouched down in front of Annabelle and kissed her cheeks. "Listen to your sister. Don't wander off and don't talk to strangers. All right?" she asked and Annabelle nodded hugging her mother very tightly. She mouthed "I'll miss you." And Moira kissed her forehead.

"I'll miss you too dawtie. But you'll have your sister with you."

"All aboard! All aboard!" the conductor called. Moira and the girls joined the Pevensie's where they were.

"All right. Off you go." Helen said and Moira added "Stick together." The children went off and Moira and Helen held hands in a comforting gesture.

"Hey get off. I know how to get on a train by myself." Edmund complained. The children handed in their tickets and got on the train. Lucy struggled against Peter's hold, not wanting to leave, as did Annabelle with Ophelia.

"Come on, Lucy. We have to stick together." Peter told Lucy.

"Everything's going to be all right. It's gonna be fine you two." Ophelia added and with sniffles the girls both agreed and boarded the train. Once they shut the doors the children found a window and waved to their mothers and waved good bye with tears in their eyes.

**Whoo! Chapter 1 is up! Please review and tell me what you think of the character's, Annabelle's muteness, Ophelia's storytelling and what you think is gonna happen although that last one is pretty obvious.**

**Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is has landed on ! Whoo-hoo! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from CON, I do own my lovely OC's.**

**Enjoy my sweets! : )**

The train was taking all the children to the countryside where they'd be safe. The Greer's and the Pevensie's were going to be picked up by a woman named Mrs. Macready, who would take them to live with a man named Professor Kirke.

From start to finish the ride was long. All the children got into a compartment and put their things in the above compartments, though the Pevensie brothers were still wary of each other. In the compartment Edmund sat next to the window with Annabelle by his side and Ophelia next to her, while on the other side of the compartment were Lucy, Susan and Peter. They tried passing the time by guessing what this Professor Kirke would be like.

When they stopped at Goosey Station they saw children being separated from each other and they all worried if the same would happen to them at some point. Annabelle hugged Sir Edward tighter and looked to Ophelia.

"We're not going to be separated." Ophelia promised though she herself doubted it. The train started up again and the children shifted in their seats. Annabelle tried to make it fun by pointing out the different structures of nature that you could only find in the countryside. After several hours they were finally dropped off at Coombe Halt and awaited Mrs. Macready.

When they heard a car engine sputtering they picked up their bags and ran to the edge only to find that the car had passed them.

"The professor knew we were coming." Susan said trying to understand why they were late.

"Perhaps we've been incorrectly labeled." Edmund suggested and Annabelle shrugged. Then they heard a horse approaching and a woman ordering "Come on, hup!" Soon a horse drawn farm carriage came into view and I saw their eyes widen at the prospect. A woman with red hair and a stern face stopped in front of them.

"Mrs. Macready?" Peter asked.

"I'm afraid so." The woman answered stiffly. "Is this it, then? Haven't you brought anything else?"

"No ma'am. It's just us." Peter answered. Lucy and Annabelle nodded.

"Small favors." Mrs. Macready said. Then she tilted her head as a sign for them to get on. Peter and Ophelia helped the others up before getting themselves on. Mrs. Macready drove the horse and they were off to Professor Kirke's. After a long ride they came upon an estate which was very spacious and promised a good time for play if the need should, and would, arise.

"Professor Kirke is not accustomed to havin' children in this house." Macready started when they entered the house. "And, as such, there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shoutin'. Or runnin'. No improper use of the dumbwaiter. No touchin' of the historical artifacts!" she snapped when she was Susan was about to touch a bust. Peter and Edmund stifled laughs at their sister's expense. "And above all, there shall be no disturbin' of the professor." Macready soon led them to their rooms and as soon as she was gone Ophelia said "Charming woman that one."

"She's just a little strict. Nothing we can't handle." Peter said. Ophelia rolled her eyes and they unpacked their things.

Later in the girl's room Peter turned on the news of the war on the radio. Ophelia listened earnestly as the person said "German aircraft carried out a number of attacks on Great Britain last night. The raids, which lasted several hours…" Susan shut it off and tilted her head to Lucy who had been sniffling the entire time. Annabelle was lying next to her under the covers, to comfort them both.

"The sheets feel scratchy." Lucy said sadly.

"Wars don't last forever, Lucy. We'll be home soon." Susan assured her.

"Yeah, if home's still there." Edmund commented.

"Isn't it time you were in bed?" Susan sighed.

"Yes, mum." Edmund replied sarcastically.

"Ed!" Peter warned.

"Are we really going to do this right now? Come on." Ophelia sighed exasperated by their childish behavior. Then she turned to Annabelle and Lucy. "Think about it girls. Tomorrow we can play outside. Right Peter?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, of course. You saw outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here. Tomorrow's going to be great. Really." Peter promised and the girls smiled. Annabelle then reached over and grabbed a pen and notebook. She scribbled something down and once she was done she passed the note to Ophelia. Ophelia took it and it read _"Lucy's still a little scared. I can feel her shaking under the covers. Tell her a bed time story."_

Ophelia showed the note to Peter and Susan and they both nodded. "But make it a happy ending this time." Susan whispered and Ophelia nodded.

"Before we go to bed how about another story. This time with a happy ending. Would you like that?" Ophelia asked. Lucy looked up to Annabelle was nodded assuring.

"A happy ending this time?" Lucy asked timidly.

"Yep. Now let me get the book…out…so you can choose…where…oh there it is. Edmund, can you hand me the book?" Ophelia asked after looking around and seeing that it was on a table by Edmund.

"Why? I don't want to listen to some stupid story." Edmund said.

"Well Annabelle and Lucy want to hear one so could you please hand me the book." Ophelia said impatient because of his attitude. Edmund still didn't move so Annabelle wrote something down and handed it to him. The note read _"Please Edmund. I promise to return the favor somehow."_ Thinking he could use this to his advantage Edmund nodded and gave the book to Ophelia.

"Remember, you owe me." Edmund whispered so that only Annabelle could hear and she nodded smiling at him. He looked a little embarrassed and turned away.

"Table of Contents. Alright girls, point to the one you want." Ophelia handed the book to the girls and they skimmed over the stories. Annabelle pointed to one and Lucy nodded.

"This one right here." Lucy said pointing to a story title. Ophelia grabbed the book and looked at their selection.

"Hansel and Gretel…great choice. Peter I think you should read. Sore throat and all." Ophelia lied but Peter took it anyways.

"Since you talk so much I'm not surprised you have a sore throat." Peter muttered but Ophelia heard and hit him on the arm twice. "Ow! You know most men have to get married before they suffer this kind of abuse."

"Just read." Ophelia huffed. Peter turned the page until he found the story he was looking for.

He began _"__On the borders of a dark forest, far away, there once lived a woodcutter with his wife and two children. The woodcutter was very poor indeed, and the children, who were called Hansel and Gretel, had often not enough bread to eat. Their mother had died when they were very little and the woodcutter's new wife did not care for children, so times were hard for Hansel and Gretel._

_As winter came on they grew poorer and poorer, until at last one night the poor woodcutter said to his wife, "What are we to do? There is only one loaf of bread left and I fear we shall starve."_

_We must get rid of the children," answered his wife. "Tomorrow we will take them into the wood and leave them there. They will never be able to find their way home."_

_"Oh no!" said the father, "I could not leave them there to starve." "Well, we shall all starve together if they stay with us," answered his wife, "so it will come to the same thing in the end."_

_And she talked to her husband until she made him promise to do as she had said._

_Now, although it was late, Hansel and Gretel were wide awake, for they were too hungry to sleep, and they could not help hearing all the plans that were made._

_"Oh!" sobbed Gretel, "we shall be lost in the dark wood, and the wild beasts will eat us."_ He tried to make his voice high but the children giggled at this since it was cracked. "Okay I am not doing a girl's voice." He declared.

"Fine. I'll do the girl's voice." Ophelia said scooting closer to him. They both blushed slightly at the closeness. For the rest of the story Peter did Hansel's voice, Ophelia did Gretel's voice and Susan even did a nice witch and evil stepmother's voice.

Peter continued _"Do not cry, little sister," said Hansel. "I will take care of you." And he slipped out of bed and put on his coat._

_Then he softly unbarred the door and stepped out on the garden path. The moon was shining brightly, and the white pebbles on the path shone like new pennies. Hansel stooped down and filled his pockets with as many pebbles as they would hold. Then he went in and crept back into bed again._

_The next morning the wife came and woke the children very early. She told them they must get up and dress themselves quickly._

_"You shall go with us to the forest today, while your father cuts wood," she said._

_Then she gave them each a thick slice of bread for their dinner, and they all set out together. Gretel carried both slices of bread in her apron, for Hansel's pockets were full of pebbles._

_Now, as they went along, the father noticed that Hansel stopped and looked back every few minutes._

_"Why do you look back so often, my son?" he asked. "If you do not take care you will stumble and fall."_

_"I only looked back to see my little white cat who is sitting on the roof," answered Hansel. "She wants to say good-bye to me."_

_"Nonsense!" cried the woodcutter's wife. "There is no cat. It is only the morning sun shining on the wet roof."_

_But Hansel was not really looking at the cat, for each time he turned around he dropped a white pebble on the road to mark the way which they were taking._

_As they went farther and farther into the wood, the road grew more and more difficult. At last the woodcutter stopped and told the children to gather some sticks and make them into a heap._

_"I am going to light a fire to warm you," he said, "and then you can rest here until I return."_

_So Hansel and Gretel sat and warmed themselves at the fire and ate their slices of bread quite happily, for they thought they heard their father chopping wood close by. But the sound they heard was only the dead branch of a tree swinging in the wind. Then, felling very tired after their long walk, they curled themselves up on the dry leaves and fell fast asleep._

_When they awoke it was quite dark and the fire was out. The only sound they heard was the hooting of the owls overhead._

_"Oh Hansel, what shall we do?" sobbed Gretel. "We are lost in the wood and we shall never be able to find our way home."_

_"Only wait until the moon rises, little sister," said Hansel. "Give me your hand and I will take you safely home."_

_And when the moon began to rise and send silver moonbeams to light up the dark forest, the children set out, hand in hand, and found the white pebbles shining like little lamps all the way to the cottage._

_"You bad children!" cried the woodcutter's wife, when she opened the door to let them in. "We thought you were never coming home." But their father took them up in his arms and kissed them over and over again in his joy, for he had been afraid that he would never see them again._

_Not long after this there came a day when there was only half a loaf of bread left in the little hut. The wife said to her husband, "We are even poorer than we were before. Must we all starve together or shall we take the children once more to the forest, where they cannot possibly find their way home?"_

_The woodcutter was very unhappy at the thought, but because he had once said "Yes," it was now twice as difficult to say "No."_

_The children lay trembling in their beds as they listened to these plans, and poor little Gretel was terribly frightened. But Hansel comforted her again and slipped out of bed to fill his pockets with the white pebbles. This time, however, the door was locked and barred. Hansel could not get out and he had to creep back to bed again and think of some other plan._

_"Come, get up, you lazy children!" cried the wife next morning. "You are going to the forest with us today. Here is your dinner."_

_And she gave them two small slices of bread. Gretel put her slice into her pocket, but Hansel crumbled his into small pieces, and these he dropped along the way as he had done with the pebbles. "What are you turning round to look at?" asked the woman. "Be quick and do not linger."_

_"I was only saying good-bye to my white pigeon who is sitting on the roof," said Hansel._

_"Nonsense!" cried the woman. "There is no pigeon. It is only the morning sun shining on the wet roof."_

_But she did not see that every time Hansel stopped to look back he dropped a crumb to mark the way._

_This time they went much farther into the heart of the wood. When the children were tired, their father told them to gather wood so he could make them a fire._

_"You can rest until we come back," he said._

_So they rested by the fire and Gretel shared her slice of bread with Hansel. Then they grew so tired of waiting for their father that they fell fast asleep._

_It was quite dark when they woke. Gretel wept, for she was sure there were wild beasts prowling about ready to eat them up. But Hansel was quite brave._

_"I will take care of you, little sister," he said. "And I can easily find my way home, for I marked the road with my breadcrumbs." But alas! The birds had eaten up every crumb and there was not one left to show them the way home. Still they wandered on and on, all that night and all next day, but they only seemed to get deeper and deeper into the forest. They had nothing to eat but a few berries which they found in the wood. When the third day dawned they were nearly starving._

_"Oh Hansel!" said Gretel, "I think we shall be obliged to eat the fairy toadstools."_

_But Hansel held her hand tight and led her on. Suddenly they saw a beautiful white bird sitting on the branch of a tree overhead. It sang so sweetly that the children stopped to listen to it. When it spread its great white fluttering wings and flew off they ran after it as quickly as they could. It seemed to know that the children were following, for it circled slowly in front of them until it stopped over a tiny cottage in the heart of the wood._

_And when the children came near they found it was the most wonderful cottage they had ever seen. It was built entirely of gingerbread and ornamented with cookies. The windows were made of transparent candy and the steps of toffee._

_"What a feast we shall have!" cried Hansel, standing on tiptoe to break off a piece of the overhanging gingerbread roof. "Help yourself to a pane of candy, little sister, or a step of toffee."_

_Gretel took a piece of gingerbread in one hand and a pane of hard candy in the other, and sat down on a toffee step to enjoy herself. As they were both eating they heard a gentle voice from the inside of the cottage saying:_

_"Munching and crunching! Do I hear a mouse eating the walls of my gingerbread house?" _

_But the children answered quickly-_

_" 'Tis only the wind you mistake for a mouse, And no one is eating your gingerbread house."_

_Then, as the children went on eating, the cottage door opened and an old, old woman hobbled out._

_Hansel dropped his square of gingerbread, and Gretel paused with a mouthful of candy. They were both so frightened they could not move._

_"Dear little children," said the old woman, "do not be afraid of me. You are welcome to eat as much of my house as you like. But come inside and I will give you a nice dinner."_

_Then she led the children in and fed them on pancakes and apple tarts and cream. Afterwards she tucked them into two little white beds. The children felt as if they were in heaven._

_But although the old woman seemed so kind and good, she was really a wicked old witch who loved to catch fat little children and kill and eat them._

_She had red eyes, which didn't see very far, but she could smell things as quickly as a fox, and she knew when Hansel and Gretel were wandering in the forest. She had built the gingerbread house just to catch them._

_Early next morning the old witch went in to look at the sleeping children. She rubbed her withered old hands with glee when she saw how tender and fresh they looked. She would have liked them to be plumper, but that was easily mended. So she seized Hansel with her bony hand, and before he was half awake she thrust him into a little iron cage and fastened the grating in front. Then she shook Gretel roughly by the shoulder._

_"Get up, you lazy little girl!" she cried. "You must light the fire and fill the big pot with water and help me to make the breakfast. For I have shut your brother up in a cage and I am going to fatten him until he is plump enough to cook for my supper."_

_So poor little Gretel was obliged to do as the old witch bade her. And while Hansel was fed on the choicest dainties, she had only shellfish and crabs' claws to eat. And every day the old witch would go to the little iron cage and say to Hansel, "Little boy, put out your finger that I may see how fat you are growing."_

_Hansel knew that she could not see with her red eyes, so he poked out a bone instead of his finger. And every day when she felt it, she grumbled fearfully because he never seemed to grow fatter._

_At last she could wait no longer and she said to Gretel, "You must get up very early tomorrow morning, for there is plenty of work for you to do. I am going to cook your brother for dinner. You must light the fire, heat the oven, and help me prepare for the feast."_

_Poor Gretel cried as if her heart would break. "Oh, how I wish we had starved together in the wood, or been eaten up by the wild beasts!" she sobbed. "Anything would have been better than this."_

_"Wishing will not do you much good," said the wicked old witch, blinking her red eyes with glee. "And stop those foolish tears or you will put the fire out."_

_Gretel went about with a very heavy heart the next day as she lit the fire and filled the big pot with water and heated the great stone oven. And when it was all ready the old witch called to her and said, "I have kneaded the dough and the loaves are ready for baking. Come, little girl, creep into the oven and tell me if it is hot enough."_

_Now the old witch meant to shut the oven door as soon as the child was inside and bake her for dinner instead of the bread, but Gretel guessed what she meant to do._

_"The door is too small and I don't know how to get in," she said. "What nonsense!" answered the witch. "See! It is quite big enough. You put your head in first, like this._

_And the old witch stooped down and poked her head inside the oven._

_Quick as thought Gretel ran behind and with all her might gave her a sudden push so that the old witch went headlong into the oven. Gretel banged the door shut and fastened it securely._

_Then she found the key of Hansel's cage and ran quickly to let him out. "The old witch is safe in the oven," she cried, and they threw their arms round each other and danced for joy._

_After that they went into the cottage and opened all the witch's treasure chests. Hansel filled his pockets with pearls and diamonds and rubies, while Gretel took as many jewels as her little apron would hold._

_Then, hand in hand, they set out once more to try to find their way home, and very glad they were to leave the witch's cottage behind._

_They had not gone far through the wood when they came to a great lake, so broad that it would be impossible to cross it without a boat._

_"What shall we do?" said Hansel. "There is no bridge, and I can see no boat to carry us over."_

_"Look," said Gretel. "I see a white duck swimming out there. Perhaps she will help us."_

_And she began to sing:_

_"Little duck, little duck, help us, we pray._

_We are two little children who've quite lost their way._

_I know you are kind by your gentle quack, quack._

_Will you carry us over upon your white back?"_

_Then the duck came swimming to her at once, quite ready to carry them across. Hansel climbed onto her back first and wanted Gretel to sit on his knee, but she was afraid they would be too heavy for the kind duck, so she waited until Hansel had crossed to the other side and the duck returned to carry her over, too._

_And when they stood together on the opposite shore of the lake they found, to their joy, that it was a part of the wood which they knew quite well. They ran along quickly and at the next turning they came in sight of their own little hut and saw their father standing at the door._

_The poor woodcutter was overjoyed when the children rushed into his arms. He had never known a moment's happiness since he had left the children in the wood. And now he was all alone, for his wife had died. He held the children in his arms and cried for joy. They told him all about their adventures and how they had escaped from the wicked witch._

_"And see what we have brought home!" said Gretel, opening her apron and showing the glittering jewels._

_"And look how full my pockets are!" said Hansel, turning them out, until the floor was covered with precious stones._

_Now they had riches enough to last them all their days and they would never be hungry again. But though the diamonds and rubies were very precious, Hansel and Gretel thought they were not half as beautiful as the little white pebbles on the garden walk, which shone brightly when the moon came out and bathed them in silver light._

"The end." Peter said shutting the book and the girls clapped.

"Now it's time for you two to go to bed." Susan said and hugged Lucy while Ophelia hugged Annabelle and the children each went to their own beds. Almost all of them. Right when the others left Annabelle started getting out of bed when she felt Lucy grabbed her robe.

"Annabelle, can you stay with me?" Lucy asked and Annabelle wrote down _"You need to sleep."_ And showed this to Lucy who shook her head. "I'm still a little scared. Please?" Annabelle nodded and then grabbed Sir Edward and handed him to Lucy as a sign of comfort. "Thank you." Lucy said taking him and that night they together, both of them entering happy dreams.

Later that night Ophelia got out of bed and walked into the study. Peter heard the noise and followed her in.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" he asked and it made her jump. After she saw it was him she gave out a huge sigh while plopping on the couch.

"It's this war. How long is it going to be until we see mum again? How long am I going to have to tell Annabelle that everything will be alright when even I don't believe it?" she sighed. Peter sat next to her and gave her a friendly one armed hug.

"It will be okay." He said.

"How do you know? How can you be so sure that you'll see you parents again?"

"I don't. I just have to believe that for Lucy, and Susan and especially Edmund's sake. Being the oldest means you have to look out for your younger siblings, no matter what. But don't worry Ophelia. You're tough and I know you'll do what you can for Annabelle." Rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"Let's hope that's enough." She said taking the hand that was rubbing her arm and squeezing it.

The next day it was pouring rain and not to mention it was dreadfully boring inside. Susan tried inventing a new game where she took a word from the dictionary and made the others guess its language of origin.

"Gastrovascular." Susan said. Edmund looked up from under the chair he was 'working' on and shook his head. "Come on, Peter. Gastrovascular."

"Is it Latin?" Peter sighed.

"Yes." Susan answered.

"Is it Latin for 'worst game ever invented'?" Edmund teased and Annabelle giggled without making a sound. Susan slammed the book shut out of frustration.

"We could play hide and seek." Lucy suggested.

"But we're already having so much fun." Peter said sarcastically.

"Come on, Peter, please!" Lucy asked/whined. Edmund rolled his eyes. "Pretty please." Lucy asked with puppy eyes.

"Do it Peter. You can't say 'no' to those eyes." Ophelia teased him.

"One, two, three, four…" Peter started counting.

"What?" Edmund asked incredulously.

"This deserves some music." Ophelia said turning on the radio and then it started playing _Oh Johnny _by the _Andrews Sisters_ **(wink, wink)**. While Peter counted covering his eyes the other children ran about finding a place to hide. Susan hid in a table and Ophelia hid under a trap door that led to the cellar. Annabelle spotted some curtains but instead of running behind them she went to find Edmund. She found him scurrying about the fire place.

"What is it?" Edmund asked but she grabbed his hand and led him to the curtains and pointed to them.

"Thanks." He said hiding behind them and she gave him a note. He read it aloud "We're even? Hey!" he said as she ran away to another hiding spot-a secret cupboard under the stairs. Lucy ran to the curtains and opened them to find Edmund.

"I was here first." He said pulling back the curtains. She gave a huff and ran to another room and hid as well.

Lucy came upon a wardrobe and went inside to hide but found a magical world beyond its doors. She met a faun named Tumnus and learned of the evil white witch and the curse she placed on Narnia, the land beyond the wardrobe. She had been gone for hours in Narnia but barely seconds had passed in her world.

"…99,100. Ready or not here I come!" Peter called and went after the others but then Lucy started yelling "It's all right! I'm back! I'm all right!"

"Shut up! He's coming!" Edmund barked at her and sure enough Peter rounded the corner found them both quite easily.

"You know, I'm not sure you two have quite got the idea of this game." Peter said.

"Weren't you wondering where I was?" Lucy asked as if she had been gone for a great length of time. Susan hearing the noise thought the game was over and came up behind them.

"That's the point. That was why he was seeking you." Edmund told her as if she was brain dead.

"Does this mean I win?" Susan asked but then she saw that neither Ophelia nor Annabelle was there so she sighed.

"I don't think Lucy wants to play anymore. We should find the girls and tell them that the game's off." Peter said.

"I've been gone for hours." Lucy said. They went looking for the girls and eventually found them to discuss the situation. Lucy told them that she went to another world through the wardrobe. The others went to the wardrobe to amuse her and Susan parting the coats to reveal…the back of the wardrobe. Edmund tapped the back of the wardrobe as well so there was no door of any kind.

"Lucy, the only wood in here is the back of the wardrobe." Susan said.

"One game at a time, Lu. We don't all have your imagination." Peter said. The others turned to leave her there but she yelled out "But I wasn't imagining!"

"That's enough, Lucy." Susan told her.

"I wouldn't lie about this!" Lucy half sobbed. Annabelle knew that kids always imagined but even she could understand that Lucy would indeed not lie about this. Annabelle took the notebook that she always carried around to communicate with the others and scribbled something down. She showed it to Lucy and pointed where it said _"I believe you."_ Lucy smiled and hugged her.

"Well, I believe you." Edmund said.

"You do?" Lucy asked with hope. The other kids were surprised.

"Yeah of course. Didn't I tell you about the field in the cupboards?" Edmund mocked. Lucy felt heartbroken and Annabelle was shocked by how mean he was being.

"Will you just stop? You just have to make everything worse, don't you?" Peter said tired of his games.

"It was just a joke!" Edmund defended himself.

"Peter he's just a kid." Ophelia said trying to stop the catastrophe that was about to take place.

"When are you gonna learn to grow up?" Peter ignored Ophelia's warning.

"Shut up! You think you're Dad, but you're not!" Edmund shouted and ran out of the room.

"Well, that was nicely handled." Susan said sarcastically and ran after Edmund. Ophelia turned to Peter and shook her head before going after Susan.

"But…it really was there." Lucy said timidly.

"Susan's right, Lucy. That's enough." Peter said before leaving Annabelle and Lucy alone in the room. Lucy shut the door of the wardrobe and sat down miserably. Annabelle sat next to her and slung her arm around her shoulders.

"Why do you believe me?" Lucy asked sniffling. Annabelle thought about it and then took her notebook and wrote down a new note.

Lucy read it aloud _"Not really sure. I just think that you wouldn't lie about things like this. I'd like to see it though; to be sure it's there." _Annabelle got up and left, not really knowing if she believed Lucy or not.

Later that night when they were all asleep, except for one, Lucy felt that the time came for her to return to Narnia. Only this time she wanted to bring someone with her. Lucy got in her boots and took a candle, walking over to Annabelle's bed and lightly shaking her awake. Annabelle woke up groggily and Lucy put a finger to her lips. Annabelle gave her a look and Lucy shrugged. She handed Annabelle her boots and Annabelle warily took them, unaware as to why she was doing this. Lucy led her out into the hall and once there she asked "Do you want to see Narnia?"

Seeing no harm in this, whether this world were real or part of Lucy's imagination, Annabelle nodded because she did hope this world Lucy told her about was real. They quietly waded to the room with the wardrobe, unaware that Edmund was done using the toilet and saw them walking. With a mischievous grin he followed them. Lucy led them both to the wardrobe and when she opened the door the sudden wind blew out the candle. _Wait, wardrobes aren't supposed to have cold winds! _Annabelle thought as Lucy led her inside and shut the door. Once they were in Annabelle felt something prick her face and reeled back. Lucy giggled, took Annabelle's hand and led her further. When they finally reached the 'outside' Annabelle was shocked by the winter wonderland that they had stumbled upon. Just to be sure she picked up the snow, formed it into a snowball and threw it.

"Believe me now?" Lucy asked. Annabelle nodded and Lucy laughed quietly.

"Come on. I want you to meet Mr. Tumnus." Lucy said once again taking her friend's hand and leading her to Mr. Tumnus's home.

Back in there world Edmund entered the wardrobe room but didn't see the girls. "Lucy. Annabelle. Where are you?" he walked up to the wardrobe and hoped to scare them both. "Boo!" he yelled in there but still he couldn't find the girls.

"Lucy. Hope you're not afraid of the dark." He taunted closing the door. He expected Lucy to say something, or at least for Annabelle to make a sound with her feet, but nothing. "Lucy? Annabelle?" then he felt something prick his face like it had Annabelle's. He waded around it and went deeper into the wardrobe. "Annabelle? Lucy?" Then his feet padded something soft and he fell to the ground. He looked up and saw that he was in a winter wonderland. Only what he didn't realize was that it was the same place where Lucy and Annabelle were.

**Next chapter will probably be about Lucy and Annabelle's visit to Mr. Tumnus's home. I'm not sure. Review please!**

**Bye! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia. **

**Proclaimer: I do own my OC's which are the lovely Ophelia and the cute Annabelle. **

**Enjoy! : )**

As Lucy led Annabelle through the forest to see Mr. Tumnus Annabelle took note of everything around her. She saw that everything, the trees, the ground, the rocks were covered with snow, making everything glow bright. Then Lucy stopped and Annabelle saw at the base of a rock was a wooden door with intricate carvings on it. _What kind of creature would live here?_ Annabelle thought. Lucy took her hand and led them to the door and knocked on it softly twice.

Then the door opened and Annabelle saw the top of a man only wearing a scarf. But upon looking lower she saw that his bottom half was that of a goat. _A goat? _She mentally screamed and tried to go back but tripped over a rock and fell backwards.

"Annabelle!" Lucy whisper/yelled. She went to Annabelle and the goat man tried to help but Annabelle was scared that this strange creature was going to hurt her. Lucy saw that Annabelle was scared of Mr. Tumnus and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Annabelle, don't worry. This is Mr. Tumnus, my friend that I told you about. He won't hurt you." Lucy promised and Annabelle thought, _This is Mr. Tumnus? Well I suppose that does explain why he has such a strange name._ She stood up and went inside with Lucy and Mr. Tumnus who quickly closed the door as soon as they were in. Annabelle was scared by the suddenness and Mr. Tumnus said "I apologize for not properly introducing myself. My name is Tumnus, Mr. Tumnus." Annabelle said nothing and Mr. Tumnus was confused by her silence. _Is she still wary of me?_, he thought.

"Does she still not like me?" He asked Lucy.

"What makes you say that?" Lucy asked.

"Well she still hasn't spoken a word since she met me." Tumnus said worried that he had somehow offended Lucy's friend. Lucy was confused then understood what he had meant.

"Oh no, it's not your fault." She said then lowered her voice to a whisper so that Annabelle couldn't hear. "Annabelle hasn't said a word since her father died." Upon hearing the news about Annabelle's father's death, he felt sympathy and understanding for her muteness.

"Well Ms. Annabelle from Spare Oom, I do hope that we can become great friends." He said and then Annabelle reached for her notebook but forgot to bring it. She gestured to Lucy for something to write on.

"She needs something to write on and to write with." Lucy told Tumnus who took a scrap of parchment and a quill pen and handed them to Annabelle. She took them and scribbled some words on the parchment and then handed them to Tumnus.

He read "_I hope that we can become friends too._ Well I'm glad you feel that way." He said with a smile and Annabelle smiled too, holding out her hand for him to shake it.

"Is this another handshake?" he asked Lucy who nodded and he returned the gesture. After the shake Annabelle was confused that he didn't know what a handshake was and passed Lucy a note.

"_He doesn't know what a handshake is?_ Not really. Handshakes don't exist in Narnia. Oh look you're shaking. Must be from when you fell in the snow." Lucy said once she saw that Annabelle was indeed shaking. Annabelle looked herself over and found that her bum was wet from when she fell in the snow.

"Perhaps some tea would warm you up?" Tumnus suggested and Lucy gave him a look that meant 'no tricks this time'. Tumnus looked down ashamed of what he had done the last time and prepared a cup of tea for her as Lucy sat her down.

"Do you want to know more about Narnia? I'm sure Mr. Tumnus will be glad to tell you stories. Right Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked as he entered the room with a cup of tea.

"Of course. Here's something to warm you up." He said handing it to her and once she drank it she felt warmed already and her taste buds tingled from the sweetness of it. She set it down and wrote something new and handed it to Tumnus.

"_It is so sweet. Sweeter than any tea I've ever had. What's your secret? _Well my secret…" he trailed off as she leant forward "…is a secret." Annabelle pouted while Lucy giggled and Tumnus smiled. Annabelle stuck out her tongue before taking the tea and drinking the rest in one gulp. She made a satisfied face and soon the conversation which was mostly one sided on Annabelle's part took place. Tumnus talked about how Narnia was before the curse was placed, how the Narnians had such wonderful music and every season was celebrated.

Then the White Witch came along and destroyed all that. She cursed Narnia with an eternal winter with no Christmas, and ruled the land with an iron fist and a frozen heart. The more Annabelle heard about this woman the more she hated and became fearful of her.

Soon the time came for the girls to leave before any of the Witch's spies saw them and with good graces the girls left Tumnus and headed to the wardrobe, or Spare Oom as Mr. Tumnus called it. They hurried to the entrance as fast as they could without making too much noise when they saw a blue figure ahead of them. The girls were cautious and stepped closer very quietly until they got a better look bu the figure, who wasn't much taller than they were, had their back turned to them. Then the figure turned around and they saw it was Edmund.

"Edmund?" Lucy called running up to him as Annabelle did. "Oh, Edmund! You got in too! Isn't it wonderful?" Lucy exclaimed hugging him tightly. Annabelle stopped in front of them and when Edmund looked at her she blushed slightly.

"Where have two been?" Edmund asked pushing Lucy off.

"With Mr. Tumnus. He and Annabelle have become friends. He's fine. The White Witch hasn't found out anything about him meeting me." Lucy told him.

"The White Witch?" Edmund asked wiping some white powder off his lips.

Lucy leaned in to whisper "She calls herself the Queen of Narnia, but she really isn't." Annabelle nodded but the girls saw that Edmund had a sick look on his face. "Are you alright? You look awful."

"Well, what'd you expect? I mean, it's freezing. How do we get out of here?" Edmund said defensively and this seemed strange to Annabelle.

"Come on. This way." Lucy said and she led her brother and best friend to the lamppost which marked the entrance and exit to their world. Once they were through Lucy ran to the bed rooms, flung the door open and turned on the lights.

"Peter, Peter, wake up! Peter, wake up! It's there! It's really there!" Lucy shouted jumping on her brother who woke up very cranky and groggily.

"Shh! Lucy, what are you talking about?" he asked with a tired voice. Susan and Ophelia heard the noise and entered the room after Edmund and Annabelle.

"It's all in the wardrobe like I told you!" Luc yshouted.

"You've just been dreaming, Lucy." Susan said crankily.

"Will the games never cease?" Ophelia growled. She was not a happy person at 2 o'clock in the morning.

"But I haven't! I saw Mr. Tumnus! And this time Annabelle and Edmund went too." Lucy said and all eyes fell on them.

"Annabelle, were you playing along just to satisfy Lucy?" Ophelia asked exasperated and Annabelle shook her head, grabbing a nearby piece of parchment and pen and wrote down a note and passed it to Ophelia.

"_No, we weren't playing. I really saw Mr. Tumnus._ Annabelle! I understand that you like stories but this is the real world. There are no fauns and no magical worlds beyond a wardrobe." Ophelia said tiredly. Annabelle felt hurt, no, really hurt that Ophelia would dismiss her so easily when it really was there. Now she knew how Lucy felt.

Peter turned to Edmund "You…you saw the faun?" All the eyes turned to Edmund and Annabelle pleaded with her own for him to say yes so the others couldn't deny it.

"Well, he didn't actually go there with me and Annabelle. He…What were you doing Edmund?" Lucy asked after she realized that she had no idea where he had been all this time.

Edmund knew that he had to save himself so he said "I was just playing along." Annabelle and Lucy looked betrayed. "I'm sorry Peter. I shouldn't have encouraged her, or Annabelle, but you know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending." He said knowing what they wanted to hear, and next thing anyone knew Lucy was sobbing and ran out the door crying. Peter and Susan ran after her while Ophelia stayed behind with Edmund and Annabelle.

"I know you like stories Annabelle, but you're going to have to realize that fairy tale ending just don't happen in the real world. Good night." Opehlia said patting her head leaving Edmund alone with Annabelle who now had tears streaming down her face. When Edmund saw her he felt guilty because although he wanted to save himself he knew that Annabelle was his only friend right now and he made her feel terrible.

Annabelle wrote something down on the paper furiously with her tears staining the page. She pushed it to Edmund.

It read _"How could you?" _and the look in Annabelle's tear rimmed eyes looked at him with conviction and pain, which only made him feel more guilty.

"Look, Annabelle I didn't mean-" he didn't finish because then Annabelle pushed him roughly to the ground and stormed out the room, an aggressive and out of character move for Annabelle. While she ran to her room and outside, Lucy ran into the professor.

When she hit something she looked up and found a concerned elderly man looking down at her. She sobbed wrapping her arms around his torso when her oldest siblings came in and saw her.

Mrs. Macready heard the noise and walked in grumbling "You children are one shenanigan shy of sleepin' in the stable!" she stopped when she saw that the professor heard everything she said and quickly apologized. "Professor. I'm sorry. I told them you were not to be disturbed."

"It's all right, Mrs. Macready. I'm sure there's an explanation." The Professor said looking down at Lucy. "But first of all, I think this one is in need of a little hot chocolate." He said passing Lucy to Mrs. Macready who said "Come along, dear." and led her away.

When Peter and Susan tried to run back to their rooms the Professor cleared his throat and took them to his study.

Meanwhile in the girl's room Annabelle ran inside to do who knows what but found that the room was empty. _I thought that Ophelia was sleeping in here._, she thought. In fact Ophelia was in the bathroom, enough said. She didn't want to see anyone at all and decided to make a run for it. But she couldn't leave Sir Edward or her dad's book behind so she grabbed them and her robe and ran downstairs and she was out the door.

She ran around the front lawn and looked for the nearest place to hide. She knew it was childish to run away like this but she was indeed still a kid and felt too hurt.

_I know you like stories Annabelle, but you're going to have to realize that fairy tale ending just don't happen in the real world. _Ophelia's words hurt because she had no idea how much those stories meant to Annabelle. They, along with Sir Edward who was a present from her dad on her 3rd birthday, were the only things she had left of her father.

_But you know what little children are like these days. They just don't know when to stop pretending._ Edmund's hurt the most because even though he intended them for Lucy he also made it look like Annabelle was lying. She thought he was her friend. Why would he have done something like that? She spotted the woods and looking back at the mention ran into them, following the path so she could find her way back once she cooled down. She found a small rock with an indent that curved from the bottom to the top that made it look like a small cave. Annabelle ducked under it and wrapped her robe tighter around herself when she felt the cold wind which was soon replaced by rain. She clutched Sir Edward and the book to her chest and new tears sprang to life. She retreat further back into the rock until it hit her back. She looked to Sir Edward who had a small smile on his face and smiled back.

In her mind, the part which was still a child like Lucy, Sir Edward was her best friend, her knight in shining armor, her protector and brother. She named him after her father because he was all these things to her. When she was younger she used to go on all sorts of 'adventures' with Sir Edward, whether it was slaying a dragon, protecting a fort, becoming knights, or anything at all they were always together and they had a special bond. And whenever Sir Edward needed a break her father would read them both stories about princes and princesses, about dwarfs finding Snow White, about Rumplestiltzkin trying to get the baby, and these stories meant the world to Annabelle because then she could escape a world of hurt and pain. She wasn't stupid. She knew things were bad but the stories that her father, and now Ophelia, told her were her only consolation.

The reason why Annabelle was mute was because she was there the day her father died. She saw him get hit by the car and to this day she couldn't get the picture of her father lying motionless in his car out of her mind. Sir Edward then became her father, her protector and friend. And when she became mute so did he. Though in her mind he was still as talkative as ever, except they could talk with their minds, so that whatever they said was just between them.

Annabelle sniffled and she imagined her father wiping away her tear. Her eyes felt heavy and she drifted into sleep.

**Dream/Flashback**

_ "Daddy." Annabelle sniffled finding her father in the study. _

_Upon seeing his daughter crying and clutching Sir Edward he turned in his seat. "What's wrong Annabelle?"_

"_I had a bad dream." She sniffled and he smiled sadly before going over and scooping her up and taking her to her room. Once he laid her under the covers he pulled them over her and sat next to her. _

"_Now, tell Daddy what was so scary that it made my brave girl cry." He said in a soothing voice._

"_I-It was a-a monster. He was chasing me in the woods. I tried to run but he was too fast and he caught me. Then I woke up. I wish I was braver." She said sadly and he smoothed her head back and kissed her small forehead. _

"_Sweetie it was just a nightmare. And you're already brave." He assured her and she shook her head._

"_I'm not. Ophelia is. She doesn't have bad dreams. Besides, she's braver, and taller, and bigger, and better than me." Annabelle said._

"_Now why would you think that Ophelia is better than you?" he asked._

"_Didn't I just say the things she was better at than me?" she asked and Edward gave a hearty laugh. _

"_Just because Ophelia is taller and bigger than you doesn't mean-"_

"_And braver." Annabelle interrupted and he sucked in a breath._

"_Annabelle we are all different. We have different faces, different personalities, and different dreams."_

"_Different dreams? Like what?"_

"_Well some people will dream about riding over the sky. Others will dream about swimming in the deepest depths of the ocean. Dreams are an essential part of life. They provide a person with a place to run away from the troubles of the real world, and give them a place where the world is entirely their own personal kingdom. Bad dreams are just intruders in the kingdom." _

"_Well Sir Edward is a knight. He'll stop the intruders." Annabelle said proudly and Edward laughed as he watched her waving Sir Edward's arm around with a pen in it, like it was a sword._

"_Good night, princess." He said after kissing her forehead again and was now at the door way._

"_Good night, Daddy." She said smiling. _

**End Dream/Flashback **

Annabelle woke up and found that it was still raining and it was getting colder but could risk going there now. Good thing that the small platform she was sitting on was a foot off the ground so the water didn't get to her. She looked to Sir Edward who still had the smile on his face, of course, and she cracked open the book.

"_Would you like me to read about Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Sir Edward?" _She asked in her mind.

He responded in her father's voice _"Why yes, Princess Annabelle. I would love to hear about them." _Annabelle silently read them the story to wait out the rain.

In the Professor's study he sat down at his desk and looked at the children. "You seem to have upset the delicate internal balance of my housekeeper."

"We're very sorry, sir. It won't happen again." Peter said trying to drag Susan out but she pulled back.

"It's out sister, sir. Lucy." Susan told him.

"The weeping girl." Professor Kirke said.

"Yes, sir. She's upset." Susan said.

"Hence the weeping."

"It's nothing. We can handle it." Peter said.

"Oh, I can see that." Professor Kirke said sarcastically.

"She thinks she's found a magical land. In the upstairs wardrobe. And it's not just her. It's her friend Annabelle too." Susan said and this caught Professor Kirke's interest.

"What did you say?" Professor Kirke asked.

"Um, the wardrobe, upstairs. Lucy and Annabelle thins that they've found a forest inside." Peter told him, thinking that the two have gone off the deep end.

"Lucy especially won't stop going on about it. She even convinced Annabelle that it was real." Susan told him, also thinking that they were a few cards short of a full deck.

"What was it like?" Professor Kirke asked.

"Like talking to a pair of lunatics. Or at least one lunatic who speaks and another who agrees." Susan confessed.

"No, no, no, not the girls. The forest." Professor Kirke insisted.

"You're not saying you believe them?" Peter asked, thinking that the Professor was crazy too.

"You don't?" Professor Kirke asked incredulously.

"But of course not. I mean, logically it's impossible." Susan explained.

"What do they teach in schools these days?" Professor Kirke muttered to himself.

"Edmund said they were only pretending." Peter informed him.

"He's usually the more truthful one, is he?" Professor Kirke inquired.

"No. This would be the first time." Peter confessed.

"Well, if they're not mad and they're not lying, then _logically_ we must assume that they are telling the truth." Professor Kirke said lighting up his pipe.

"You're saying that we should just believe them?" Peter asked.

"She's your sister, isn't she? And the girl, from what I've seen, is her friend, right? You're Lucy's family, and Annabelle's friends. You might just try acting like one."

"Annabelle? Annabelle where are you?" Ophelia's voice called as she searched the rooms. She went back to the girl's rooms and saw that Annabelle's things were gone. She went to the boy's room where she last saw her and saw that Edmund was still there looking at the floor.

"Ed, have you seen Annabelle?" Ophelia asked.

"No. She just ran out of the room crying." Edmund said and Ophelia left quickly searching the other rooms and with everyone room she passed she grew more anxious. Something didn't feel right and then she came upon the wardrobe and opened it but there was just the wood so she looked other places as well. When she came upon the Professor's study she opened the door hoping that Annabelle was there but found it was only the Professor, Peter and Susan.

"Ophelia? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" Peter asked as he saw her crazed face, drenched with sweat and worry.

"Have any of you seen Annabelle? I can't find her anywhere. And Sir Edward, her robe and dad's book are missing." Ophelia breathed out tired from running around.

"No we haven't." Susan said.

"Can you help me look? I don't have a good feeling about this." Ophelia said with much more than worry etching her face.

"We'll help you look. And we'd better hope that she's not outside." Peter said.

"Why not?" Ophelia asked.

"Because it's started raining." Professor Kirke answered and they all ran around the house looking for Annabelle. Ophelia went back to the boy's room and told him that Annabelle was missing and he joined the search. They put every inch of the house under a microscope but Annabelle was nowhere to be seen. They even found Mrs. Macready and Lucy in the kitchens and told them what happened.

"Of all the things to do…Well how much have you searched?" Mrs. Macready asked.

"We checked the bedrooms, the studies, the library, the bathrooms, even the secret cupboard that she found. We can't find her anywhere." Ophelia said officially 'freaking out'. Peter patted her back trying to calm down.

"Ophelia calm down-" Peter started but Ophelia cut him off.

"Never tell a girl to calm down! You men think that saying 'calm down' will actually calm down a girl but how the bloody hell I am supposed to calm down!" She screamed slapping his arm a few times with a lot of force.

"Have I mentioned that most men have to get married before they suffer this kind of abuse?" Peter shot back and they were in each other's faces before they realized they were only an inch apart.

"Lovebirds, you mind snogging later so that we can find Annabelle?" Edmund said both worried about Annabelle and feeling sick at the sight of his brother and Ophelia so close to each other.

"Shut up!" they both shouted which made him stumble back but nonetheless they both kept a distance from each other.

"So if she's not here then where is she?" Lucy asked through new sniffles which were caused by the disappearance of her best friend.

"Unfortunately there's only one place left." Mrs. Macready said looking out the window which revealed the outside to have pouring rain. Ophelia ran upstairs faster than anyone thought possible and ran back downstairs with her boots, rain coat and an umbrella. Ophelia headed to the front door but Peter stepped in front of her.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

"I'm going out to look for my sister." Ophelia said trying to push past him but he grabbed her shoulders and kept her there.

"Ophelia, it's pouring out there and it's muddy. We don't need another missing girl." Peter said.

"But-"

"We can't risk losing you too. We'll go after Annabelle after the rain stops."

"But what of she-" Ophelia stopped when there was a knocking at the door and she pushed Peter roughly aside and swung it open to find Annabelle dripping wet with Sir Edward and her father's book safely tucked under her robe.

"Annabelle!" Ophelia cried pulling her in. "You're dripping wet and you're shaking! You must be freezing! Get her something warm to drink! Hurry people!" Ophelia ordered and just as everyone was going to get these things Annabelle broke out of Ophelia's embrace and ran upstairs, leaving a wet trail behind her.

"Annabelle!" Lucy cried as she ran upstairs after her. Annabelle ran to the girl's room and changed into a new nightgown and towel dried her hair and just as she was going to go under the covers she heard a voice say "Annabelle?"

Annabelle looked and saw Lucy at the doorway. "Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

Annabelle shook her head.

"Are you still mad at Edmund? And Ophelia?" Lucy asked and Annabelle nodded. Lucy went up to her and gave her a big hug. Annabelle sniffled while returning the hug.

"Well we know what happened. And we can visit Narnia anytime we want." Lucy said trying to cheer her up and Annabelle did feel a little better. She grabbed her notebook and wrote down something new and handed it to Lucy.

"_Narnia can be our own secret world. _Yes, I guess it can be." Lucy said and the two went to bed with dreams of Narnia on their minds.

**Review please!**

**Sorry if there are any spelling or grammar errors.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the CON. I DO own Annabelle and Ophelia Greer, who are my OC's. **

**Enjoy! : )**

The next day the children decided to play cricket. Well actually the ones playing cricket were Peter, Susan, Ophelia and Edmund while Lucy and Annabelle were sitting by a tree reading Edward Greer's book. They didn't play mostly because they were both still very cross about the incident last night. Lucy had ignored the others and Annabelle hadn't bothered "speaking" to anyone. Edmund got the worst of it since Annabelle wouldn't even look at him.

"Peter winds up, poised to take yet another wicket!" Peter said bowling the ball right onto Edmund's leg while Edmund was staring up at the sky.

"Ow!" Edmund complained.

"Whoops! Wake up, Dolly Daydream." Peter teased.

"Why can't we play hide and seek again?" Edmund asked wanting to lead them to the supposed Queen of Narnia.

"Why can't Peter stop the active commentary?" Ophelia teased and Peter gave them both glares.

"I thought you said it was a kid's game." Peter said to Edmund then turned to his best friend. "And my commentary is necessary."

"For your ego perhaps." Ophelia shot back and he gave her a mock glare.

"Besides, we could all use the fresh air." Susan added.

"It's not like these isn't air inside." Edmund said and although Annabelle was still cross she blushed every time he spoke. Lucy noticed that Annabelle was distracted because she had stopped turning the pages of the story. Lucy followed Annabelle's gaze and found her staring intently at Edmund but not out of anger.

"You like Edmund?" Lucy asked in a hushed voice and Annabelle blushed and shook her head furiously.

"Are you ready?" Peter asked.

"Are you?" Edmund shot back. Next thing anyone knew there was a shattering noise that sounded like broken glass and Annabelle turned to see a cricket sized hole in one of the windows. Annabelle's mouth turned into an 'O' in surprise while Ophelia exclaimed "Oh for Pete's sake!" The all ran inside to see the damage and when they arrived in the room they found that not only had the ball broken the window but it had knocked over a suit of armor.

"Well done, Ed." Peter spat.

"You bowled it!" Edmund exclaimed.

"What on earth is goin' on?" Mrs. Macready's voice shouted.

"The Macready!" Susan exclaimed.

"Come on!" Peter shouted and they all ran as if they lives depended on it, and judging Mrs. Macready's behavior towards them it probably did. They heard the footsteps of their wicked housekeeper as if she was right behind them and they ran and ran until they came upon the wardrobe.

Edmund ran in front of the door of the wardrobe, opened it and shouted "Come on!"

"Oh, you've got to be joking." Susan muttered. They then heard the footsteps coming closer and Ophelia remarked "You'd rather face her?" Not wanting that at all the children ran inside the wardrobe and Peter quietly closed the door. Soon the sounds of arguments began.

"Get back!"

"My toe!"

"I'm not on your toe!"

"Move back!"

"Will you stop shoving?"

"Hurry up!"

"If I don't get out I'm going to scream!" Peter and Susan fell back into…snow? They got up and Susan gasped "Impossible." Summing up the feelings of everyone there.

"Couldn't agree more." Ophelia said as they beheld the snow covered wood.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's just your imagination." Lucy teased and the others finally realized that she and Annabelle were telling the truth.

"I don't suppose saying we're sorry would quite cover it." Peter stammered.

"No. It wouldn't." Lucy said turning around and she and Annabelle secretly took snowballs, then Lucy threw hers at Peter while Annabelle threw hers at Ophelia. "But that might!" Annabelle and Lucy high fived each other and Ophelia laughed.

"Peter, I do believe that we have been attacked." Ophelia said.

"Why yes, we have. What say we retaliate?" Peter said playing along and soon an all out snowball fight broke out between five of the six children and they were all laughing and having fun until Annabelle saw Edmund and, wanting him to join the fun, hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Stop it!" he complained. Everyone had stopped and the older kids realized the Edmund had lied to them.

"You little liar." Peter gasped.

"You didn't believe them either." Edmund defended but Ophelia got in his face.

"Don't you realize that because of your lying that Annabelle could've gotten lost last night or worse?" Ophelia roared and this scared everyone. One thing you should never do to Ophelia Rose Greer is to never mess with her family, especially not her baby sister. If you then hell hath no fury like an Ophelia scorned. Edmund looked down ashamed because he did feel bad about at least that.

"Apologize to Lucy and Annabelle." Peter demanded. "Say you're sorry." He raised his voice stepping dangerously closer.

"All right! I'm sorry." Edmund said quickly.

"That's all right. Some children just don't know when to stop pretending." Lucy said using his own words against him.

"Oh, very funny." Edmund said sarcastically.

"Maybe we should go back." Susan suggested.

"But shouldn't we at least take a look around?" Edmund suggested quickly.

"I think we should let Lucy decide." Peter said.

"And Annabelle. We owe them both an apology." Ophelia said mouthing 'sorry' to Annabelle who smiled and mouthed 'You're forgiven'.

"I'd like you all to meet Mr. Tumnus! Don't you think Annabelle?" Lucy looked to her friend who nodded.

"Well, then Mr. Tumnus it is." Peter said enthusiastically and he went back to grab the coats.

"But we can't go hiking in the snow dressed like this." Susan complained.

"No. But I'm sure the professor wouldn't mind us using these. Anyway, if you think about it logically, we're not even taking them out of the wardrobe." Peter said.

"But that's a girl's coat!" Edmund fussed when Peter handed it to him.

"I know." Peter said simply and Edmund huffed in frustration. They trekked through the snow to Mr. Tumnus's home and they rolled around in the snow having fun all along the way. Lucy stopped talking about Mr. Tumnus's treats when she saw the front door was broken down.

"Lu?" Peter asked. Lucy gasped and ran into the house.

"Lucy!" Peter exclaimed rushing after her as the others did. They came inside and both Lucy and Annabelle gasped at the destroyed home of Mr. Tumnus and the fear of what happened to him.

"Who would do something like this?" Lucy asked quietly to herself.

Peter found a note nailed to the wall and read aloud "The Faun Tumnus is hereby charged with High Treason against Her Imperial Majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, for comforting her enemies and fraternizing with humans. Signed Maugrim, Captain of the Secret Police. Long Live the Queen."

"All right. Now we really should go back." Susan said.

"For once I completely agree with you. Come on Annabelle, let's go." Ophelia said taking Annabelle's hand but Annabelle yanked it from her grasp.

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy cried.

"If he was arrested just for being with a human, I don't think there's much we can do?" Susan argued.

"You don't understand, do you? Annabelle and I, we're the humans. She must have found out he helped us." Lucy said.

"Maybe we could call the police." Peter suggested.

"Pete, these _are_ the police." Ophelia said.

"Don't worry girls. We'll think of something." Peter assured Lucy and Annabelle who were not at all relieved.

"Why? I mean, he's a criminal." Edmund said and then they heard a chirping 'Psst." They looked outside to see a bird on a tree branch.

"Did that bird just "psst" us?" Susan asked.

"After everything that's happened, I wouldn't be surprised if the trees could talk." Ophelia muttered done with the craziness.

"Actually they can." Lucy interjected and Ophelia shook her head. They went outside and followed the bird and they heard a twig snap and rustling noises.

"Did you hear that?" Ophelia asked quietly bringing Annabelle closer to her. They heard more rustling then saw a beaver coming over a tiny hill.

"It…It's a beaver." Lucy said.

Peter outstretched his hand towards the beaver. "Here boy." He said clicking his tongue.

"I ain't gonna smell it, if that's what you want." The beaver said and Lucy chuckled while the others eyes widened.

"Sorry." Peter said retracting his hand.

"Lucy Pevensie?" The beaver asked and Lucy's smile disappeared.

"Yes?" she asked warily and the beaver uncovered a white and beaten up handkerchief.

Lucy said "Hey, that's the hanky I gave to Mr. Tum…"

"Tumnus. He got it to me just before they took him." The beaver said.

"Is he all right?" Lucy asked.

The beaver looked around before whispering "Further in."

Peter stepped forward but Susan stopped him. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"She's right. How do we know we can trust him?" Edmund asked.

"He said he knows the faun." Peter said soon realizing how many things were wrong with that sentence.

"He's a beaver. He shouldn't be saying anything!" Susan exasperated.

"This has to be the most ridiculous thing we've ever done." Ophelia shouted frustrated.

"Everything all right?" the beaver asked.

"Yes. We were just talking." Peter said.

"That's better left for safer quarters." The beaver whispered.

"He means the trees." Lucy whispered to them. Feeling paranoid they followed the beaver to his hut. Then a female voice came out of the small, very small, hut as they approached it.

"Beaver, is that you? I've been worried sick! If I find you've been out with Badger again, I…Oh! Well those aren't badgers. Oh, I never thought I'd live to see this day. Look at my fur. You couldn't give me ten minutes warning?"

"I'd have given a week if I thought it would've helped." Mr. Beaver said and the children chuckled.

"Oh, come inside, and we'll see if we can't get you some food, and some civilized company." Mrs. Beaver said and Mr. Beaver chuckled.

"Now, careful. Watch your step." Mr. Beaver warned as the descended into the hut which was in Ophelia's opinion far too small for her.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help Mr. Tumnus?" Peter asked.

"They'll have him taken to the Witch's. You know what they say. There's few that go through them gates that come out again." Mr. Beaver said and upon seeing Lucy and Annabelle's despaired faces Mrs. Beaver interrupted brightly "Fish 'n' chips? But there is hope, dears. Lots of hope."

"Oh, yeah, there's a right but more than hope!" Mr. Braver said then lowered his head and voice. "Aslan is on the move." Even though she didn't know who he was Annabelle felt happier and warmer upon hearing his name.

"Who's Aslan?" Edmund asked and Mr. Beaver broke out laughing.

"Who's Aslan? You cheeky little blighter." Mrs. Beaver hit his shoulder and showed him the confused faces of the children. "You don't know, do you?"

"We haven't exactly been here very long." Peter said.

"Well, he's only the king of the whole wood. The top geezer. The real King of Narnia." Mr. Beaver said.

"He's been away for a long while." Mrs. Beaver said.

"But he's just got back! And he's waitin' for you near the Stone Table!" Mr. Beaver exclaimed excitedly.

"He's waiting for us?" Lucy asked.

"You're bloomin' joking! They don't even know about the prophecy!" Mr. Beaver shouted.

"Well, then…" Mrs. Beaver led on gently.

"Look. Aslan's return, Tumnus' arrest, the secret police, it's all happening because of you!"

"You're blaming us?" Susan asked.

"No! Not blaming. Thanking you." Mrs. Beaver explained.

"There's a prophecy. 'When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done.'" Mr. Beaver said.

"That doesn't really rhyme." Susan said.

"I know it don't. But you're kind of missing the point!" Mr. Beaver said.

Mrs. Beaver, seeing that her husband was getting nowhere, jumped in. "It has long been foretold that two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve will defeat the White Witch and restore peace to Narnia."

_But there's six of us._ Annabelle thought.

_So where does that leave Annabelle and me?_ Ophelia thought.

"And you think we're the ones?" Peter wondered.

"Well you better be cause Aslan's already fitting out your army!" Mr. Beaver said.

"Our army?" Lucy asked, horrified and looking towards her other siblings, Annabelle and Ophelia behind her.

"Our mums sent us away so that we wouldn't get caught up in a war." Ophelia told Peter.

"I think you've made a mistake," Peter said. "We're not heroes!"

"We're from Finchley!" Susan added. The beavers exchanged confused glances as to where they were talking about. "Thank you for your hospitality," she continued standing from her spot "but we really have to go."

"But what about Mr. Tumnus?" Lucy asked.

"It's out of our hands," Peter said, he too standing up. "But it's time for us to be getting home. Ed?" He turned around to look at his brother but was shocked to find nobody there. "Ed?" he called again. Annabelle stood up and looked behind her only to find his abandoned coat and a small open door. Peter faced forward again with his jaw clenched and said, "I'm gonna kill him."

"You may not have to," Mr. Beaver said grimly. "Has Edmund ever been to Narnia before?"

"Well do you know where he is?" Ophelia asked as a sister.

"Maybe. Come on." Mr. Beaver said leading them all to a hill that overlooked the White Witch's palace. In the distance they saw a figure about Edmund's size walking through the front doors and they closed behind him.

"Edmund!" Lucy shouted and Mr. Beaver shushed her.

"Shh! They'll hear ya!" Mr. Beaver said in a hushed voice. Peter didn't want to stand around any longer and he was about to race forward when Mr. Beaver yelled "No!" and grabbed his hand.

"Get off me!" Peter shouted.

"You're playing into her hands!" Mr. Beaver whispered.

"We can't just let him go!" Susan argued.

"He's our brother!" Lucy added.

"He's the bait. The witch wants all four of ya!" Mr. Beaver warned.

"Why does he want them?" Ophelia asked.

"To stop the prophecy from coming true. To kill ya!" They're eyes widened with horror that Edmund was now in the hands of the most dangerous person in Narnia.

"This is all your fault." Susan told Peter with conviction.

"My fault?" Peter asked incredulously.

"None of this would have happened if you had just listened to me in the first place!"

"Oh so you knew this would happen?"

"I didn't know what would happen. Which is we should have left while we still could!"

"Stop it!" Lucy shouted catching all their attention. "This isn't going to help Edmund."

"She's right. Only Aslan can help your brother now." Mr. Beaver told them.

"Then take us to him." Peter said. They all ran back to the Beaver's place as quickly as they could and as soon as they reached it they flung the door wide open.

"Hurry mother! They're after us!" Mr. Beaver told Mrs. Beaver.

"Oh, right then!" she said and starting packing food.

"What's she doing?" Peter asked as they were pressed for time.

"You'll be thanking me later. It's a long journey and Beaver gets pretty cranky when he's hungry." Mrs. Beaver said.

"I'm cranky now!" Mr. Beaver shouted.

"Do you think we'll need jam?" Susan asked.

"Only if the witch serves toast before she kills us!" Ophelia yelled and they heard the wolves barking outside and they were trying to break in. They ran into a tunnel that Beaver used to go to his friend Badger's place.

"Badger and me dug this. Comes out right near his place." Mr. Beaver said.

"You told me it led to your mum's!" Mrs. Beaver said not at all happy that she had been lied to. They heard the wolves barking coming closer.

"They're in the tunnel." Lucy whispered.

"Quick! This way!" Mr. Beaver yelled and they ran off but Annabelle was the slowest and was at the back of the pack right when the tunnel collapsed and separated her from the group.

"Annabelle!" Ophelia and Lucy screamed. Ophelia and Peter ran to move the dirt and rocks out of the way. "Annabelle! Are you alright? Give me some sign that you're okay!" They soon heard a rhythmic tapping that signified that Annabelle was at least still alive. They then heard the wolves barking become louder and Ophelia began digging like crazy to get to the other side.

"Ophelia, there's too much debris. We can't get to her in time." Susan told her.

"So you're telling me to abandon my sister?" Ophelia snapped then returned to digging but didn't come up with much progress.

"She's not saying that but we don't have enough time." Peter said.

"Oh so if this was Lucy then you'd be okay with us leaving her? This is my sister and I am not going to leave her behind!"

"Ophelia." A weak voice said and they were scared as to who it belonged. "Ophelia run." The weak voice said from the opposite side of the rubble.

"Annabelle? Is that really you?" Ophelia asked.

"Ophelia run! Go without me! Run Ophelia!" Annabelle screamed. She had heard the entire conversation and knew that a note wasn't going to suffice this time and with all her might she began screaming for her to run.

"We've got to go." Peter said. Ophelia sucked in a breath and screamed "I'll come back and get you!" before running down the tunnel along with everyone else and at the end of the tunnel they heard a terrified scream. Ophelia sobbed the entire way out of the tunnel and felt dead.

Annabelle was cornered by the wolves and let out a terrified screamd. The wolf known as Maugrim said "Come with us willingly and we won't tear you to shreds." Annabelle nodded and she went with them to the Witch's palace.

Outside the tunnel Lucy tripped over a statue and the others found themselves surrounded by the frozen statues of Beaver's friends. Beaver went to his friend Badger who was forever frozen in a terrified stance.

"I'm so sorry." Mrs. Beaver said consoling her mate.

"He was my best mate." Mr. Beaver said.

"What happened here?" Peter asked.

"This is what becomes of those who cross the Witch." A fox said coming out of nowhere.

"Take one more step, _traitor_, and I'll chew you into splinters." Mr. Beaver warned aggressively, being held back by Mrs. Beaver.

"Relax. I'm one of the good guys." The fox said.

"Yeah? Because you look an awful lot like one of the bad ones." Mr. Beaver hissed.

"An unfortunate family resemblance. But we can argue breeding later. Right now we've got to move." The fox said and they heard wolves barking.

"What did you have in mind?" Peter asked.

The wolves soon broke through the barrel that Mr. Beaver had used to block the entrance of the tunnel and when they caught sight of the fox they surrounded him.

"Greetings, gents." Fox said sarcastically. "Lost something, have we?"

"Don't patronize me! I know where your allegiance lies. We're looking for some humans." Maugrim snarled.

Above in a tree the Beavers and the humans were hiding quietly hoping that none of them looked up. Fox laughed "Humans? Here in Narnia. That's a valuable bit of information, don't you think?" One of the wolves snarled and grabbed him with their teeth, causing Fox to yelp in pain. Lucy almost screamed but Peter quickly covered her mouth while Mrs. Beaver covered Mr. Beaver's, trying to stop the possible profanities.

"Your reward is your life. It's not much, but still. Where are the fugitives?" Maugrim warned while simultaneously insulting him.

Fox whimpered from the pain and the others feared that he would really give them up.

"North. They ran north." Fox lied.

"Smell them out." Maugrim ordered. The wolf that was holding Fox threw him aside and the wolf pack ran north, thinking they would find the humans. The group climbed down from the tree after they were sure the wolves wouldn't sense them and went to help Fox. Peter started a fire and Mrs. Beaver was helping Fox's wounds although he did put up a bit of fuss.

"They were helping Tumnus. The Witch got here before I did." Fox explained as to why Beaver's friends were turned to stone. "Ow! Oh!" He groaned.

"Are you all right?" Lucy asked.

"Well, I wish I could say their bark was worse than their bite. Ow!" Fox yelped when Mrs. Beaver applied pressure to the wound.

"Stop squirming! You're worse than Beaver on bath day." Mrs. Beaver scolded.

"Worse day of the year." Mr. Beaver whispered and Lucy and Susan smiled while Ophelia's face remained sullen and every now and then she would glance back at the tunnel. Peter caught sight of this but really had no idea how he could comfort her. He knew how she felt because the same thing happened to him with Edmund. But at least he had Lucy and Susan, granted Susan was annoying to him but at least he had them. Annabelle was all Ophelia had left. If the Witch kills Annabelle then she has nothing.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm afraid that's all the cure I have time for." Fox said standing up.

"You're leaving?" Lucy asked.

"It has been a pleasure, My Queen, and an honor, but time is short and Aslan himself has asked me to gather more troops." Fox said and the Beaver's gasped.

"You've seen Aslan?" Mr. Beaver asked.

"What's he like?" Mrs. Beaver gasped.

"Like everything we've ever heard. You'll be glad to have him but your side in the battle against the Witch." Fox said.

"But we're not planning on fighting any Witch." Susan protested.

"But surely, King Peter, the prophecy!" Fox pleaded.

"We can't go to war without you." Mr. Beaver added.

"We just want our brother and Annabelle back." Peter said.

"Well maybe you're not…but I will." Ophelia said.

"What are you talking about?" Susan asked.

"This…woman took my sister. She's done horrible things to the Narnians and I am not going to let her get away with it." Ophelia retorted.

"You aren't thinking straight. You're only focused on revenge." Susan said as gently as possible but she and Ophelia never really saw eye to eye.

"So what? I am not going to let that witch get away with this injustice. I don't care if I have to face her alone, I'll make her pay." Ophelia with conviction and it was when she said 'alone' that Peter became worried. In his opinion Ophelia Greer was as stubborn as a mule and was she set her mind to something there was no changing it. Also she had an annoying habit of thinking that she could face things alone. Peter became very concerned indeed.

"Ophelia think rationally. Let's say you do battle the Witch. What next? You're not even armed. You wouldn't stand a chance." Susan argued and Ophelia knew she was right. Her last shot of getting Annabelle was taken and she remained silent for the rest of the night.

Inside the Witch's dungeon Edmund was chained by the ankles to the icy walls, already regretting ever meeting that horrible woman. He picked up some rancid, tough bread and tried to eat it but it was too bad and he coughed and spat it out. He took the mug next to the plate and drank the icy cold water.

"If…" A voice to his right called. Edmund turned to see a faun chained as well staring at him. "If you're not going to eat that…" Edmund scooted over as did the faun and gave him the 'bread'.

"I'd get up, but…but my legs…" the faun said taking the bread and Edmund saw that they had been broken. The faun at the horrible bread hungrily and Edmund had a guess as to who he was.

"Mr. Tumnus?" Edmund asked.

"What's left of him." Mr. Tumnus replied. "You're Lucy Pevensie's brother."

"I'm Edmund." He answered.

"You have the same nose. Do you know Annabelle Greer?" Mr. Tumnus asked.

"Yeah. She's my best friend. Or at least…she used to be." Edmund said sadly, wondering if she was still mad.

"Are they all right? Are they safe?" Mr. Tumnus asked with worry and Edmund jumped slightly at the sound of a wolf snarling.

"I don't know." He said finally. Then the doors to the dungeon opened and in a few seconds the Witch entered with a very dissatisfied look on her stony yet beautiful face.

"My police tore that dam apart. You're little family are nowhere to be found." The White Witch's icy voice cut through the stillness in the dungeon. Maugrim entered as she interrogated Edmund herself.

"Your Majesty, we have retrieved a prisoner." He said and the White Witch smiled cruelly as she said "Bring them in." Annabelle was pushed into the room and looked just as terrified as Edmund felt.

The Witch turned to her. "What is your name, Daughter of Eve?" When Annabelle didn't answer she grew frustrated and lifted her into the air with impossible strength. "I asked you a question. What is your name?"

"Her name is Annabelle! She can't answer you. She's a mute!" Edmund said pleadingly and then she threw Annabelle down to the ground.

"If she cannot answer a simple question then she is of no use to me." She said raising her staff but Edmund shouted "Wait! The Beavers said something about Aslan!" He didn't want Annabelle to get hurt.

This news scared the Witch in the slightest and she lowered her staff. Mr. Tumnus became even more interested in both the news and Annabelle, who he was sorrowful that she had gotten in the Witch's hands. "Aslan? Where?" she asked.

"I-" Edmund started but Mr. Tumnus quickly interrupted.

"They're strangers here Your Majesty. They can't be expected to know anything!" Mr. Tumnus interrupted and he was butted in the head which made Annabelle gasp.

"I said…Where is Aslan?" She asked and Edmund didn't answer. Then she pointed her staff towards Annabelle. "Tell me where he is or I will kill her."

"I…I don't know. I left before they said anything. I wanted to see you!" Edmund said and Annabelle was shocked. _Why on earth would he want to see this monster?_

"Guard! Release the faun!" she ordered. An ogre came in and brutally cracked the chain open with a hammer, causing even more damage to Mr. Tumnus's broken legs. The ogre dragged Mr. Tumnus in front of the Witch.

"Do you know why you're here, faun?" she asked him.

"Because I believe in a free Narnia." he answered smartly.

"You're here because he," she pointed to Edmund "turned you in. For sweeties." Annabelle looked at him disgusted and he lowered his head in shame. "Take him upstairs." she sneered. "And ready my sleigh. Edmund and Annabelle miss their family."

**Don't be mad. I always intended to split up Annabelle and Ophelia so there. And if you're wondering the Witch thinks that Annabelle and Edmund are related so that's why she said 'family' instead of 'families'. **

**Review and tell me what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the CON. I own my OC's.**

**Enjoy! : )**

"I've failed." Ophelia muttered miserably. She had been walking at the back of the pack for some time now, feeling like 'a miserable failure'. She left her baby sister behind. Peter saw that she was falling behind and stopped the group so that he could talk to her.

"What happened to Annabelle wasn't your fault." He told her and instead of snapping she looked up with a dead look in her eyes.

"I left her behind." She said with remorse in her voice. Peter was astounded. Ophelia, who was always so strong and brave, looked…defeated.

"You didn't leave her behind there was nothing we could do."

"But…But I promised my mum that I would take care of her. I promised that no matter what I would look after Annabelle. Look how well that's gone." Ophelia said darkly.

"I did the same with Ed. Look, one way or another we're going to get them back. We just have to find Aslan and the Narnians." Peter assured her and she smiled sadly. She nodded and they soon began their journey again.

They all made it to the top of a cliff which overlooked the land below for a few miles. To Ophelia it would have been beautiful if the situation they were in wasn't so dire.

"Now Aslan's camp is near the Stone Table. Just across the Frozen River." Mr. Beaver said.

"River?" Peter asked.

"Oh, the river's been frozen solid for a hundred years." Mrs. Beaver said and the great expanse of the land made the journey seem even longer.

"It's so far." Peter said.

"It's the world, dear. Did you expect it to be small?" Mrs. Beaver asked endearingly.

"Smaller." Susan said raising an eyebrow at Peter.

At the Witch's palace Ginabrik was bringing Annabelle and Edmund to the Witch's sleigh and they stopped at the sight of the statue formerly known as Mr. Tumnus. Annabelle almost cried at the sight but she was too frozen with fear to move. Edmund saw that she was scared but didn't know what to do that would possibly make her feel better.

"When you're ready, Son of Adam, Daughter of Eve." The Witch said from her sleigh and Ginabrik pushed them forward. Edmund got on the sleight first but Annabelle was far too terrified to move.

"Get on the sleigh." The Witch ordered and when Annabelle didn't move she slapped her with so much force that it echoed off the walls. Edmund gasped with horror at what had just happened. Annabelle held her cheek which was red from the use of strength.

"Unless you want worse, I suggest you get in." The Witch said and this time with a dark glare Annabelle got on the sleigh and sat next to Edmund.

"I'm sorry. I'm so-so sorry." Edmund whispered as the sleigh moved and Annabelle looked up and saw the sincerity in his eyes. Although she could never imagine why anyone who was good like Edmund would help someone evil like the Witch she couldn't understand. What she did understand, however, is that he is still a kid and kids make mistakes.

Edmund lowered his head in shame because he felt, no he knew, that it was his fault. Mr. Tumnus being arrested and turned to stone, Annabelle getting hurt. He would never forgive himself. He wouldn't be surprised if Annabelle hated him for the rest of their lives, however short that may be.

Annabelle saw that he was sincere and grabbed his hand firmly. When he looked up she gave him a weak smile and put his hand and both of hers, trying to give them both comfort.

Peter, Ophelia, Susan, Lucy and the Beaver's were trekking through the endless expanse of snow to the Frozen River. Mr. Beaver, seeing their rather slow progress, turned to them and said "Come on, humans! While we're still young!"

"If he tells us to hurry one more time, I'm gonna turn him into a big, fluffy hat!" Peter said as he picked a tired Lucy piggy back style. Ophelia smiled at the sight of Peter being a good brother, trying to lighten the damp mood for Lucy's sake. That was one thing she always admired about Peter. Although sometimes he was a bit bossy and pig headed and stubborn and…getting to the point he was always trying to be a good brother, especially to Lucy. In some ways Peter and Lucy's relationship was similar to Ophelia and Annabelle's. Just the thought of her sister made her heart ache but she promised that as soon as she could she would storm the Witch's palace and get Annabelle back. She didn't care if she had to turn Narnia upside down by herself, she would find Annabelle.

"Hurry up! Come on!" Mr. Beaver said, this time with a lot more distress in his voice.

"He is getting a little bossy." Lucy admitted.

"No! Behind you! It's her!" Mrs. Beaver shouted with distress and they turned around and saw a sleigh heading right for them. Lucy jumped off Peter's back and they ran for the lives.

"Run!" they shouted and they made a mad dash for the woods which was so close yet so far, the bells from the sleigh sounding in their ears. The broke through the wood's frontal exterior and Mr. Beaver found a hiding place that turned its back to the sleigh.

"In here! Dive! Dive!" Mr. Beaver shouted and they all scrambled inside of the small cave and heard the sleigh bell's stop near them. They breathed heavily, too scared to make a sound and when some snow fell from the top of the tiny 'cave' they looked and saw the silhouetted figure of a person, looking for them. Every sound made them jumpy and they felt trapped.

After the noises had ceased Lucy whispered "Maybe she's gone."

"I suppose I'll go look." Peter suggested but Mr. Beaver put a restraining paw of his shoulder.

"No! You're worth nothing to Narnia dead." Mr. Beaver whispered.

"Well, neither are you, Beaver." Mrs. Beaver whispered desperately reaching a hand out to him and he smiled and took it gently.

"Thanks, sweetheart." He said and he quietly went up to see if she was really gone. Down below the others waited anxiously and the sound of padding made them all more jumpy then before. When Mr. Beaver popped his head into view suddenly Lucy gave a small shriek while Susan jumped.

"Come here! Come here! I hope you've all been good, cause' there's someone here to see ya!" Mr. Beaver said excitedly and they walked out of the cave and saw a man in a red coat with a white beard standing next to a sleight smiling at them. They were shocked as to whom this was but instinctively Lucy knew.

"Merry Christmas, sir." Lucy said stepping forward smiling and Father Christmas laughed.

"It certainly is Lucy, since you have arrived." He said gently and Ophelia couldn't help but think he seemed familiar. Not in a sense that they had met before but like she should know who he was.

"Look, I've put up with a lot since I've got here but this…" Susan started but Peter interrupted her.

"We thought you were the Witch." Peter confessed.

"Yes. Sorry about that but uh, in my defense I have been driving one of these longer than the Witch." Father Christmas said understanding.

"I thought there was no Christmas in Narnia." Susan said confused.

"No, for a long time. But the hope that you have brought, Your Majesties, is finally starting to weaken the Witch's powers. Still, I dare say that, you could do with these." Father Christmas turned to his sleigh and took out a sack full of presents out and placed them in front of them.

"Presents!" Lucy cried joyously. Father Christmas chuckled at her enthusiasm and brought out a sheathed knife and a cordial. "The juice of the fire flower, one drop can cure any injury." He said and Lucy took it. "Though I hope you never have to use it." He added handing her a knife. Now in retrospect you wouldn't normally give a little girl a knife but this wasn't a _normal_ situation.

"Thank you so but…I think I could be brave enough." Lucy said.

"I'm sure you could. Battles are ugly affairs." Father Christmas said. He turned back to the sack and brought out a bow and a quiver full of arrows. He turned to Susan and handed them to her.

"Susan. Trust in this bow, and it will not easily miss." He said.

"What happened to 'battles are ugly affairs'?" she asked and he laughed.

"Though you don't seem to have a problem making yourself heard, blow on this, and wherever you are, help will come." Father Christmas told her handing Susan a horn with the face of a lion on it.

"Thanks." She whispered.

"Peter. The time to use these may be near at hand." He said handing Peter a sword and shield. Peter unsheathed the sword and it looked very impressive. Ophelia couldn't help but notice that in this light his hair reflected off the sun and made it look even more golden than before. And with the sword he looked like a knight from those old stories her dad told her. Not her unnamed father who abandoned her and her mum. Her real dad, Edward Greer, who was twice the man her biological father will ever be. Back to Peter, she noticed that he actually looked, kind of handsome and his eyes which were focused on the sword looked so intense and-

_Whoa! Back a minute! This is your best friend Ophelia. You've played sports together since you were 8. This is the same guy who you've wrestled with and won against until he hit puberty and could now beat you, though the benefit of those first few months was that you could constantly tease him about his cracked voice. So why on earth are you saying he's handsome? Not that's he's not because he is and-oh great! You are rambling in your own mind._

"Thank you, sir." Peter's voice brought Ophelia out of her reverie.

"Don't think I forgot about you Ophelia." Father Christmas said and she stepped forward. He turned to her and handed her a sword which she unsheathed and although impressive wasn't as magnificent as Peter's. When she unsheathed her sword Peter could help but notice that she looked like one of those warrior goddesses that you would see in ancient mythology.

_Hold on! Did you just refer to your best friend as a goddess? Get a hold of yourself man. Not that Ophelia isn't attractive but she's your best mate. Wait, does that sound wrong? Snap out of it!_

Needless to say Ophelia and Peter were very confused by this and both silently decided that both the hedgy situation and the rapid climate change were affecting their brains.

"You are a strong spirit, something that is rarely found in the world. Use this when you want to defend what you care about, but do not let your passion grow in fury. And also…" he turned back to the sack and handed her a compass. "…take this."

Ophelia opened the compass, thinking it was a rather plain gift compared to the others, but then saw that it didn't point north, or in any direction actually.

"This compass doesn't point north." She pointed out.

"When you are in doubt, merely ask the question, open the compass, and it will point you in the right direction." He said and she nodded.

"Thank you." She said.

"These are tools, not toys. Bear them well and wisely." Father Christmas said and Peter and Ophelia sheathed their swords.

"We promise, sir." Ophelia said and they all agreed.

"Now then, I must be off. Winter is almost over, and things do pile up when you've been gone a hundred years." Father Christmas laughed then turned to them. "Long Live Aslan! And Merry Christmas!" he said and hopped on his sleigh and rode off.

"Merry Christmas!" The others shouted after him along with 'thank you's'.

"Told you he was real." Lucy told Susan and Ophelia laughed.

"After everything that's happened I wouldn't be surprised if the Easter Bunny was real also." She laughed and Lucy giggled, then the prospect became a possibility. "Annabelle would have loved to meet him." Ophelia sighed.

"He said winter was almost over. You know what that means?" Peter asked the others. They shook their heads. "No more ice."

When they were upon the former Frozen River they saw the ice was breaking away rapidly. If they didn't hurry then there wouldn't be any ice left to cross.

"We need to cross. Now!" Peter said grabbing Lucy's hand and leading them to the River.

"Don't beavers make dams?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not that fast, dear." Mr. Beaver pointed out.

"Come, on!" Peter said.

"Wait! Will you think about this for a minute?" Susan interjected.

"We don't have a minute!" Peter barked.

"Susan, if we don't hurry there won't be anything left to cross." Ophelia said looked at the already deteriorating ice slip away faster.

"I'm just trying to be realistic." Susan defended.

"No, you're trying to be smart. As usual." Peter snapped and he took Lucy, the Beavers and Ophelia down. Hearing a wolf howl Susan followed soon after.

They made it to the base of the river and it was getting close. Peter took a step forward and the ice cracked immediately from the pressure.

"Maybe I should go first." Mr. Beaver suggested since he was far lighter than Peter was.

"Maybe you should." Peter said and Mr. Beaver stepped onto the ice and it cracked a little from his weight.

"You've been sneaking second helpings, haven't you?" Mrs. Beaver accused.

"You never know which meals gonna be your last. Especially with your cooking." Mr. Beaver joked. He continued his rhythm of lightly tapping and the others followed him, trying to be as light on their feet as possible. They were scared ever time the ice broke and constantly checked what was left of the ice.

"If our mums knew what we were doing…" Susan trailed off.

"Our mums aren't here." Peter barked and Lucy yelled "Oh no!" They looked and saw the wolves were closing in on them.

"Run!" Peter yelled and they ran as fast as they could without breaking the ice. But it wasn't fast enough because now they were cornered and one of the wolves bit down on Mr. Beaver, not killing him but kept him prisoner.

"No!" Mrs. Beaver shouted seeing this.

"Peter!" Lucy cried fearfully. Peter and Ophelia drew their swords but barely knew how to use them.

"Put those down, kids. Someone could get hurt." Maugrim taunted.

"Don't worry about me! Run him through!" Mr. Beaver yelled, struggling against the wolf.

"Leave now while you can, and your brother and sister leave with you." Maugrim said.

"Peter, Ophelia stop! Maybe we should listen to him!" Susan shouted. The prospect of just leaving with Annabelle was tempting but Ophelia knew that they would never let them leave alive.

"Smart girl." Maugrim chuckled darkly.

"Don't listen to him! Kill him! Kill him now!" Mr. Beaver shouted.

"Oh come on. This isn't your war. All my Queen wants is for you to take your family and go." Maugrim said but then he noticed something. "Aren't there only supposed to be four of you?"

"Look, just because some man in a red coat hands you a sword it doesn't make you a hero! Just drop it!" Susan shouted and Ophelia was at the end of her patience.

"Susan shut up! Do you really think that he's just going to let us go alive?" Ophelia snarled.

"No Peter, Ophelia! Narnia needs you! Gut him while you still have a chance! Mr. Beaver shouted.

"What's it gonna be Son of Adam and Daughter of Eve? I won't wait forever. And neither will the river." Maugrim pointed out and the ice was barely keeping them afloat.

"Peter!" Luc shouted and they saw the ice dam was cracking up and falling apart, water was escaping through the cracks and the dam was about to burst. Peter had to think fast and he looked at Ophelia when a plan came to mind.

"Hold onto us!" Peter shouted and he sank his sword into the ice and not a second later so did she. Lucy grabbed onto Peter and Susan to Ophelia as the dam burst and they screamed. The water washed over them for a second before they emerged again, freezing cold and almost numb but they held on. The Beavers soon joined them on their makeshift raft and directed them to land. They walked out of the river spluttering and soaked.

Susan looked to make sure everyone was there. Peter, Ophelia, Lu-wait! Where was Lucy? She turned to Peter who was only holding onto her coat.

"What have you done?" Susan asked and she called frantically "Lucy! Lucy!" As every second passed their hope became dimmer as they saw the rapids and knew Lucy wouldn't be strong enough to fight them.

"Has anyone seen my coat?" A voice asked and they all turned and almost cried with relief when they saw Lucy dripping wet but all right.

"Don't you worry, dear. Your brother's got you well looked after." Mr. Beaver said.

"And I don't think you'll be needing those coats anymore." Mrs. Beaver and looking at the woods they saw blossoms emerging from the trees. They walked further in the woods and after a while they shed their coats and started to walk on land that wasn't covered with snow, only a dim reminder of what had been.

The Witch stopped at the River and took Edmund with her and left Annabelle at the sleigh. The Witch, Ginabrik and Edmund overlooked the not so frozen river and realized how warm it was getting.

"It's so warm out." Ginabrik said about to shed his coat but that Witch gave him a look that warned him to do otherwise. He hurriedly set his coat back on and said "I'll go check the sleigh." Edmund smiled at his discomfort.

After they had left the sleigh Annabelle looked around for anything she could use as a weapon for when someone came back, hopefully the Witch. She looked and saw an arrowhead near her and figured she could use it later. When she saw that no one was looking she grabbed it and hid it under her sleeve. Then she grabbed a big but no very heavy rock and prepared to attack. Now all she had to do now was wait and maybe she could escape and get help.

Then when Ginabrik came along to check the sleigh she hit him over the head with the rock and made a break for it. Unfortunately she wasn't faster than the wolves that were just arriving and one of them pounced and knocked her to the ground. Then pinned her down and one wolf laid a paw on her chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" he taunted. "Bring her to the Queen!" he barked and they dragged her to the Witch and Edmund. On the way Annabelle noticed that they were carrying a fox by the teeth who looked over at her with both joy and guilt on his face.

"Your Majesty. We found the traitor. He was rallying your enemies near the Shuddering Woods." The head wolf said and the one that was holding him threw him away.

"Ah. Nice of you to drop in. You were so helpful to my wolves last night. Perhaps you can help me now. And what do we have here?" The Witch said finally noticing Annabelle who was a bit sprawled. The wolves released their grip and Annabelle scooted away from them and checked on Fox.

"She tried to escape." The same wolf said. Fox stood up and bowed his head.

"Forgive me, Your Majesties." Fox said.

"Oh, don't waste my time with flattery." The Witch said obviously missing that he said 'Majesties' instead of 'Majesty'.

"Not to seem rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you." Fox said looking at Edmund and Annabelle. The Witch stepped forward twirling her staff in her hands and Fox stepped in front of Annabelle to protect her.

"Where are the humans headed?" The Witch asked pointing her staff at Fox. When he didn't answer she raised her staff to attack and Annabelle closed her eyes but Edmund stepped in front and said "Wait! No! Don't. The beaver said something about the Stone Table, and that Aslan had an army there."

"An army?" The Witch asked without emotion but she was still worried. Fox sighed in disappointment and Edmund stepped out of the way but grabbed Annabelle's arm. She tried to tug away but Fox gave her a slight push in the other direction to keep her out of danger.

"Thank you, Edmund. I'm glad this creature got to see some honesty…before he dies." The Witch said right before she plunged her staff into Fox's heart and turned him to stone right before their eyes.

"No!" Edmund shouted. The Witch retracted her wand then slapped Edmund across the face. Annabelle gasped but that shock was soon replaced with anger. She lunged for the Witch but one of the wolves caught on and tackled her to the ground. He then but into her leg so hard that she cried out in pain.

"So she can utter a sound. Perhaps she isn't as stupid as I thought her to be." The Witch said looking at Annabelle then turned Edmund and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank about whose side you're on, Edmund. Mine…or theirs." She took his chin and forced him to look at the statue of Fox. She let him go and then turned to Annabelle. "You better think twice before you make a move like that again. Or this…" she pointed to Fox "…will be the least of your worries. Release her." She told the wolf who let go of Annabelle's leg but it was bleeding and would definitely leave a scar.

The Witch turned to her wolves and said "Go on ahead. Gather the faithful. If it's a war Aslan wants…" she turned a passing butterfly to stone with speed. "…it's a war he shall get."

Annabelle started crying softly but Edmund heard and kneeled down to wrap her in a hug because he was scared too. She hugged him tightly and placed her head under his chin.

"I'm scared." She whispered softly to Edmund because right now he was the only person she trusted that wouldn't hurt her. Edmund was shocked. _She can talk now?_, he thought. Although he wanted to ask more questions he felt her shaking and hugged her tighter.

"I'm scared too." He whispered back and helped her to the sleigh because of her leg which was injured pretty badly. Not life threatening at the moment but it needed to be fixed. The whole sleigh ride back to the Witch's army's camp, Edmund held her hand and didn't let go.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Chronicles of Narnia. I DO own my OC's Ophelia and Annabelle.**

**Enjoy! : )**

The group had reached Aslan's camp and headed towards it. At first the centaur posted at the entrance did not see them and was wary. But upon closer inspection he saw them to be the children of the prophecy and blew his horn, signifying their arrival.

All the children were glad they had finally reached Aslan's camp. They knew that they were one step closer to bringing back Edmund and Annabelle. At that point Ophelia was no longer concerned with revenge. She would put that aside once she knew that Annabelle was safe.

As they passed a cherry blossom tree Lucy stopped when she heard a soft rustling. She turned around and saw a lady made of pink flower petals waving to her. Lucy waved back shyly but knew she had to go with the others and quickly caught up to them.

The Narnians murmured excitedly and stared as they saw the humans walking through their camp. They stopped what they were doing just to look at them and follow.

"Why are they all staring at us?" Susan asked uncomfortably.

"Maybe they think you look funny." Lucy answered and both Peter and Ophelia smiled at how bright and witty she was.

Mrs. Beaver was furiously cleaning her fur to make sure she looked presentable.

"Oi, stop your fussing. You look lovely." Mr. Beaver said as both a compliment and to help Mrs. Beaver's nerves.

The group had walked up in front of a singular tent and the head of the camp, where a centaur named Orieius was stationed to guard the being inside.

Peter drew his sword non-threateningly and raised it. "We have come to see Aslan." The crowd murmured again at his boldness then everyone saw the tent's flaps move. The crowd quickly bowed on their knees. The tent opened and revealed a great and golden lion, bigger than any the children had ever, yet instead of fear their felt respect and warmth towards the creature they had now recognized as Aslan. They quickly went on their knees and lowered their heads in respect.

"Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam. Welcome, Susan, Ophelia and Lucy, Daughters of Eve. And welcome to you, Beavers. You have my thanks. But where is the second Son of Adam?" Aslan asked questioningly. Their eyes saddened when he mentioned Edmund and they stood up.

"That's why we're here, sir. We need your help." Peter said sheathing his sword.

"We had a little trouble along the way." Susan said.

"Our brother's been captured by the White Witch." Peter's words stirred up the crowd as they came into possession of a new worry.

"And so has my little sister, Annabelle." Ophelia added, determined not to let her disappearance slide.

"Captured? How could this happen?" Aslan asked thinking about both Edmund and Annabelle.

"He betrayed them, Your Majesty." Mr. Beaver said and the crows murmured this time in slight anger.

"Then he has betrayed us all!" Orieius said angered.

"Peace, Oreius. And what of the Daughter of Eve, Annabelle? I'm sure there's an explanation." Aslan calmed him.

Peter looked at the others with guilt on his face. "It's my fault, really. I was too hard on him. And Annabelle was captured during a tunnel collapse. I made Ophelia leave her behind." Ophelia looked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.

"I left her behind too." She whispered choked up from the sudden flood of emotions but she promised that she wouldn't show them. Not now. Maybe later when she was alone and no one would notice.

"We all were hard on him. And we all left her behind." Susan said to them both. She saw that, in the slightest traces, Ophelia's eyes watered up and she wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Ophelia welcomed to gesture.

"Sir, he's our brother. And Annabelle, she's my best friend." Lucy whimpered.

"I know, dear one. But that only makes the betrayal and the abandonment all the worse. This may be harder than you think." Aslan looked at Peter.

Later on they went into the tents and the girls found dresses while Peter suited up in some makeshift practice armor. Nothing metal but it was still effective. However Ophelia made a big fuss about the dresses and refused to wear them so she took some of the leftovers from Peter's clothes and did her best to make them like his while it still showed her figure.

"Peter! You've got to hide me!" Ophelia said suddenly running into Peter's tent while he was still changing.

"Ophelia! Get out of my tent!" He shouted quickly covering himself up but could only cover his bottom half. Ophelia drooled a little at the site of his chest but shook her thoughts and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Shh! She'll hear you." She whispered trying to listen to see if she had found her.

Peter removed her hand from his mouth and felt a tingle. "Who?"

"Susan. She's trying to force me into an atrocious pieces of fabric she calls a dress."

"So? What's the big deal? It's just a dress." Peter said. Didn't girls like wearing dresses? Then again Ophelia wasn't like most girls.

"Would you like to wear a dress?" she huffed then burst into giggles at the thought of Peter in a frilly dress. She froze when she heard Susan calling for her.

"Peter please! Don't let her know that I'm here. She said that she'll get some Narnians to hold me down so she can slip it on." Ophelia pleaded taking his hand, and felt a tingle. Peter blushed when she took his hand and the tingle it brought and looked into those blue eyes of hers he couldn't say no. He nodded and she smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you so much." She whispered.

"Ophelia, are you in there?" Susan's voice asked as Ophelia ducked into a chest and closed the lid as quietly as she could. A second later Susan entered the tent to find Ophelia but found a half naked Peter.

"Oh sorry Peter." Susan apologized averting her eyes.

"Doesn't anyone knock anymore?" Peter asked.

"What do you mean? Has Ophelia been in here?" Susan asked and Peter winced when he realized he gave it away.

"Yes. She just came by here a second ago and took off when she heard you coming. I think she went that way." Peter said pointing away from the tent and Susan nodded thanking him then took off. As soon as she was gone Peter put on the rest of his clothes then opened up the chest where Ophelia was hiding.

"She's gone now." Peter said offering her his hand. She took it and he helped her out. She stumbled a bit and fell into his chest. When she realized that she hadn't moved yet she straightened up and cleared her throat.

"Thanks for your help." Ophelia said.

"You're welcome." Peter said and Ophelia blushed again.

"Um, Peter, I'm going to ask you something weird so don't react all right?" Ophelia said and Peter was unsure.

"Okay. Shoot." He said.

"Would it be okay if I um, change in here?" She asked and Peter blushed madly at the idea then lowered his eyes when for a second (or two) he imagined her naked. _Erase those thoughts!_, he thought madly.

"What?" he asked disbelieving.

"I asked you if I could change in here." Ophelia said blushing madly too.

"Well do you want me to go outside while you do?"

"Yeah but be sure to watch out for Susan or anyone that might be helping her, okay?" She asked and he nodded. He walked outside and waited out there while she changed. When he spotted Susan walking back to his tent he ran back inside.

"Ophelia hurry up. Su-" he stopped abruptly when he saw Ophelia half naked with barely any clothing on. Luckily (or unluckily), her back was turned and he didn't see it all. At least until Ophelia heard the noise and turned around to which she showed him her breasts and screamed. Peter covered his eyes quickly and tried to run but tripped over a chest and fell flat on his face. He scrambled around trying not to look while she dressed the rest of her body with the clothes but couldn't get the back down. The blood was rushing to her face and she was a little teary with frustration and embarrassment. Peter kept his eyes covered and refused to look at the expression on her face. _Oh yeah, she's going to kill me now for sure._, he thought.

"Is everything all right?" Lucy asked walking in and finding Peter covering his eyes and Ophelia desperately clutching the back of her clothes.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything is just peachy." Ophelia spat and Peter heard Lucy's voice but didn't open his eyes.

"Peter why are you covering your eyes?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing." Both Peter and Ophelia said at the same time and turned away blushing.

"Susan's looking for you Ophelia. Should I tell her that you're here?" Lucy asked.

"No! Please Lucy. You know how much I hate dresses. Please don't tell her I'm here." Ophelia pleaded while avoiding Peter's gaze.

"Okay." Lucy said before leaving them alone. Ophelia struggled furiously with the back straps and let out an angry huff.

"Do you want me to help?" Peter asked timidly. Ophelia pressed her lips in a tight line.

"No no I can…I can…I can't." Ophelia pouted and Peter came over and she lifted her red hair. As he did up the straps he couldn't but notice (okay gawk) at her back and swallowed the lump in his throat. The whole time when his fingers would accidently brush up on the skin of her back she would shiver from the sensation she felt.

Once he was done she let her hair down and turned to him.

"Thanks for that." She said without looking him in the eyes. Peter pressed his lips together and looked away too.

"No problem. Uh maybe I should go." Peter said heading outside when Ophelia said "Wait." He turned around. "Peter, now that we're here, do you really think that we'll get them back?" Ophelia asked him hoping for a good answer. However even Peter felt doubts. What happened at the Frozen River still shook him up. He wanted to tell her that it was a sure fire thing but he knew that she wasn't stupid. He knew that she couldn't accept such a simple answer because she didn't believe in simple answers.

"I hope so. But you heard what the Beaver's said. Aslan's the great lion and all that. He'll get them back." Peter said.

"And if he doesn't? Then I'll have to do it myself." She said looking at her sword.

"Will you stop that?" Peter asked frustrated.

"Stop what?"

"That impulsive idea in your head that tells you that you have to face everything on your own. That you have to protect Annabelle on your own. We can help you."

"But…"

"But what? Ophelia, why do you think you have to do everything on your own?" Peter said and his words struck her. She sat down on a chest a breathed out a sigh.

"You're lucky to have your mum and Susan. At least if you're sick then you know that someone else will be there to take care of Edmund and Lucy. If you make a mistake or have too much of a load to carry they'll help you with it. Me? I'm all alone." Ophelia said not looking at him.

"But you've got your mum." Peter pointed out sitting next to her.

"You know my mum hasn't been at her best lately. Frankly she hasn't been her best since dad died. I was too young to remember but from what I heard, when my biological father left my mum when he found out she was pregnant with me it hurt her, a lot. But she always stayed strong and well, the same. She told me that when she met dad, Annabelle's dad, she was happier. And when she had Annabelle everything was perfect. She had a family, a loving and devoted husband and her precious children. But then dad died. He used to read us those stories all the time and I really liked them. But then he was killed in that car accident. We were there when it happened, you know. We were all, as the shrinks said, emotionally scarred. He said that's why Annabelle's a mute, because she 'retreated into herself'. Mum…she took it badly. She didn't smile for months. And now when she does I know she doesn't mean it. And that guy who killed him, he only got a few years in jail. Can you believe that? Those stories with that he read to us, about happy endings and the bad guy getting what they deserve…it isn't real. I feel like such a hypocrite for reading Annabelle those stupid stories. It was too painful to even look at it and I even tried to burn it once but I couldn't go through with it. So I hid it hoping that no one would find it but somehow Annabelle did. I've had to take care of my mum and Annabelle. I'm alone. I can't depend on anyone because…" she couldn't continue because she had to wipe a tear away. She stood up abruptly and went to the tent's entrance. "I've got to go. Get some training and all that. We are going to war after all." And just like that she was gone leaving Peter dumbfounded by what she just said and he could sympathize with her fears.

He went on top of a hill that overlooked most of the camp and watched it with a distant mind. Thinking about Ophelia's words and their situation, it was all rather bleak. Peter saw over the rolling hill in the distance a large castle.

"That is Cair Paravel, the castle of the four thrones." Aslan said coming behind him and standing next to him. "In one of which you will sit, Peter, as High King. You doubt the prophecy?" he asked upon seeing Peter's uncertain face.

"No. That's just it. Aslan, I'm not what you all think I am." Peter said sure he wouldn't live up to their expectations.

"Peter Pevensie, formerly of Finchley. Beaver also mentioned that you planned on turning him into a hat." Aslan chuckled and Peter smiled. "Peter, there is a Deep Magic, more powerful than any of us, that rules over all of Narnia. It defines right over wrong, and governs all our destinies. Yours…and mine."

"But I couldn't even protect my own family."

"You've brought them safely this far." Aslan pointed out.

"Not all of them."

"Peter, I will do what I can to help your brother and Annabelle, but I need you to consider what I ask of you. I, too, want my family safe."

"What about Ophelia?" Peter asked so suddenly that even he didn't realize what he had asked until it was too late.

"Is there something wrong with your friend?" Aslan asked already knowing but wanting to hear what Peter had to say.

After a sigh Peter said "Ophelia's been beating herself up ever since we left Annabelle. I can't do anything to make her feel better. I can't seem to do anything right when she's involved." He thought back to what happened at the tunnel, the Frozen River and, far more embarrassed, the tent.

"But there is something you can do Peter." Aslan said.

"Really? What?" Peter asked eagerly wanting to know how to make Ophelia smile again. She really did have a lovely smile. Although she was the only girl he's ever had as just a friend, he remembered how much he loved her laugh, the way she smiled and that little twinkle in her eye that she gets whenever she comes up with something mischievous. _Wait, are these even okay things to think about your best friend?_, he thought.

"You simply need to be there. Your presence makes her feel comfortable, safe." Aslan said wisely.

"But she just told me that she doesn't want anyone's help." Peter said dumbfounded.

"And you believed her?"

"Well…yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"Peter, you've known Ophelia for a long time. She doesn't like to express her feelings to others. Isn't it possible that she lied to protect what she has left?"

"What would that be?"

"Her real self. No matter if the creature is human or Narnian, we all feel pain and hide some portion of that pain behind a mask. Perhaps Ophelia is keeping more of herself behind that mask." Aslan said and left Peter to ponder this.

At the Witch's camp, Edmund and Annabelle were tied to trees next to each other and after several fruitless attempts at freeing themselves they gave up. Edmund looked at Annabelle who was very tired because of the passing adrenaline and because of that bite in her leg. They hadn't even bothered covering it so it was sure to get infected if it hadn't already.

"Annabelle? Annabelle, can you hear me?" Edmund whispered hoping no one would hear them.

"Mmm." She let out weakly, keeping her eyes closed because her head was pounding and her forehead was clammy. She had already forgotten the arrowhead tucked away in her sleeve but even if she did she would be too weak to use it.

"Come on Anna. Stay with me. You can't leave me alone." Edmund pleaded scared of the possibility that Annabelle might die and leave him alone with the Witch. She heard his pleas and cracked her eyes open and looked at him and almost cried when she remembered the situation. In fact, she did start crying and her sobbing caught the attention of Ginabrik.

"Quiet!" He hissed kicking her bitten leg and she cried out in pain. She drew her legs in and tried to calm herself but the sobs continued.

"I said quiet!" Ginabrik shouted raising his dagger, with every intent to plunge it into her heart but Edmund yelled "Stop it!" Ginabrik turned to Edmund and gave him a toothy grin. "Oh. Is out little prince uncomfortable? Does he want his pillow fluffed?" he taunted waving his knife in front of Edmund and pressing it against his skin but didn't break it. "Special treatment for the special boy!" he suddenly came around the other side of Edmund hoping the scare him. It worked. "Isn't that what you wanted?" he stepped back.

"Leave him alone." Annabelle said so low that it was almost inaudible. But Ginabrik heard it and came over to her. He grabbed her hair, yanked it back and pressed his knife against her throat.

"I can do whatever I want human. And there is nothing you can do to stop me." He said smiling cheekily but only half of this registered in Annabelle's already incoherent mind. He let go of her and walked off to get something to eat.

"I'm so sorry." Edmund said and Annabelle smiled faintly.

"I forgive you." Annabelle said before sleep took over. Edmund freaked out and started calling her name, begging her to wake up, not knowing if she ever would.

**A bit cliffy I know. But if you want Annabelle to live then just say so. In your review! Ha ha ha! I'm evil! I know!**

**Bye! **


	7. Chapter 7

**I got some of your reviews and I am hurt. You didn't think I'd kill them so early, did you? Later on may be a different story. And to answer your question **_**Gates-of-Valinor**_**, no, the Mary Sue thing was not intentional. These things just happen. Honest.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia. That honor goes to C.S Lewis.**

**Enjoy! : )**

Lucy and Susan were by the river admiring their new Narnian dresses.

"You look like Mum." Lucy said.

"Mum hasn't had a dress like this since before the war." Susan pointed out.

"We should bring her one back. A whole trunk full! And when Annabelle comes back we can get her new dresses too!" Lucy said brightly, excited about the idea of seeing her mother twirling happily in a dress just like she used to, and of Annabelle running with Lucy around in a field in dresses like before.

"If we ever get back." Susan said wearily. The war had changed people and sadly ended many childhoods filled with ideas of happy endings and fairness, including Susan's. Lucy's joy was brought down and Susan looked at her with an apologetic face.

"I'm sorry I'm like that. We used to have together, didn't we?" Susan pondered.

"Yes. Before you got boring." Lucy laughed.

"Oh, really?" Susan asked with an evil gleam in her eye. She bent down, scooped some water in her hand and threw it at Lucy. Lucy threw a lot more back and got Susan very wet. "Hah ha ha!" Lucy laughed triumphantly. They threw some more water before walking out and going to get their towels. But once Susan took her towel from the tree it was hanging from she and Lucy screamed at the sight of a wolf growling at them.

"Please don't try to run. We're tired." Maugrim said.

"And we prefer to kill you quickly." Another wolf said flanking next to him. Susan looked around for anything that might help. She saw the horn and drew the towel over the wolves' eyes and ran to the horn. Once it was in her hands she blew as much as she could before the wolves got out of their mess and the girls scrambled up the tree.

Upon hearing the horn Peter left Aslan's side and raced to the source of it. Ophelia was getting sword fighting lessons from Orieius when she heard the horn and remembered that Susan was supposed to blow on it whenever she was in trouble. She too, raced to its source.

Lucy and Susan were screaming and hiding up in the tree while Susan dangled dangerously close to them.

"Get back!" Peter shouted drawing his sword and running across the creek. He put himself between the wolves and the girls with the tip of his sword.

"Come on. We've already been through this before. We both know you haven't got it in you." Maugrim taunted as he and the other wolf slowly circled Peter, looking for an easy mark.

"Peter! Watch out!" Susan shouted fearfully. Peter looked at her and waved his sword to both the wolves as one tried to circle behind him. However just as he was prepared to attack Aslan pushed his down with one paw and roared. Orieius and Ophelia drew their swords and other Narnians were ready to aid Peter but Aslan stopped them.

"No! Stay your weapons! This is Peter's battle." Aslan spoke and Ophelia didn't like it.

"But Aslan…" Ophelia pleaded worried that Peter would be mauled and she would be too late to save him. Aslan gave her a look that said that it would be alright and Ophelia believed him.

Peter was still holding Maugrim at bay and Maugrim began taunting him.

"You may think you're a king. But you're going to die…like a dog!" Maugrim pounced on Peter who fell backwards and the girls screamed.

"Peter!" Ophelia shouted running over to Peter with her sword in a offensive stance in case Maugrim attacked. When she used the tip to turn him slightly she saw that Peter had run his sword straight into his heart, killing him instantly. She sheathed her sword and looked at the girls.

"It's all right! Help me move this thing of him." Ophelia said looking at the dead wolf with disdain. The girl's jumped down from the tree and helped Ophelia move Maugrim's corpse off of Peter who was relatively unscathed. He looked at his sister's and gave them both hugs. Then he let go when he heard a gasp and turned to see it could only have been Ophelia.

"Are you okay?" she said a little choked up.

Peter just nodded and she sniffled, and then unconsciously thought of her dad and how she felt just as helpless back then as she did now. Without warning she engulfed him in a tight embrace that it made Peter gasp.

"Um, Ophelia?" Peter asked.

"Just shut up, you git." She choked up hugging him tighter. Peter was shocked. She never showed emotion like this, in front of anyone. He hugged her too not knowing was else there was to do.

Aslan released the wolf who yelped and ran away as soon as he was released.

"After him. He'll lead you to Edmund and Annabelle." Aslan commanded and Orieuis led a few troops after the wolf. Ophelia gave Aslan a grateful look as he approached.

"Peter. Clean your sword." Aslan said and he stood up and went to the river to wash the blood away. Ophelia followed him.

"You really should learn how to defend yourself better. And you went between two opponents by yourself, not very smart for an amateur. Won't do us good if you die because you can't even hold a sword properly." Ophelia said while he washed the blood away.

"I get it. I'm not properly trained." Peter grumbled and there was an awkward silence.

"For what it's worth, I'm happy that you're okay." Ophelia added and Peter almost dropped his sword when she kissed his cheek. He flustered drying his sword because he couldn't get his mind off of the sort of kiss but one look at Aslan and he steadied himself. He planted his sword in the ground and lowered his head and kneeled in respect as Aslan stood in front of him.

Aslan placed a paw on his shoulder, and then breathed over him. He retracted his paw and said "Rise, Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, Knight of Narnia." Peter stood and the girls smiled at him for his accomplishment. Peter sheathed his sword and they went back to the camp. He and Ophelia trained with some of Narnians on their sword fighting.

Peter and Ophelia were matched against each other and it was 4-6. Since Ophelia trained a little more than Peter she had a little more experience but he was catching up. He struck blow after blow on her sword until it was out of her hands and he held his sword to her attractive throat.

"I win. How much is that?" he asked confidently.

"Don't get your hopes up. It's only 5-6." She said cockily.

"Only?" he said while they breathed heavily. "Perhaps we should take a break." He suggested.

"Perhaps." She said and he lowered his sword. Ophelia went to her tent to rest but was immediately visited by a terrible nightmare.

**Dream Sequence**

_ Ophelia was back home. She was alone in the living room but there were no sounds of bombs or screams or anything like that. She looked around and found pictures of her family smiling. There was even the one of her father and mother on her wedding day. As she reached over to touch it she heard her mother's voice and Annabelle's outside and went to them to find that her father was alive. _

"_Daddy! Daddy you're alive!" she screamed happily but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at…her? He was looking at another Ophelia who was very cross and wouldn't even look at him. _

"_Now I'll be home as soon as possible. Then we can play together, alright?" Edward Greer asked but the other Ophelia grumbled "That's what you always say." He kissed her forehead where she flinched, then kissed his wife and a 6 year old Annabelle. He waved to his family and the other Ophelia muttered "I hate you."_

"_No, no you don't hate him. Take it back. Tell him you take it back!" Ophelia pleaded but she knew she couldn't hear her. She heard tires squealing in the distance and her heart almost stopped. She ran to the car just as Edward was pulling out._

"_Dad! Daddy stop! Don't pull out! Stay here or you'll be killed!" Ophelia screamed as she desperately tried to pull him out but her hands phased through the doors. Then the car came around the corner and she jumped away just in time to see him murdered. Again. _

"_NOOOO!" Ophelia screamed. She covered her eyes but someone tore them away by. It was her father gripping her wrists and he was covered in blood. His blood. There were cuts on his head _

"_Why did you say you hated me? Haven't I always loved you? Haven't I always helped you? Why would you say something so hurtful?" he asked in a dead tone but that only made him more terrifying to Ophelia._

"_I…I…I didn't mean to. I was just-" she tried to plead but the words caught in her throat._

"_What? Why would you say that? I'm dead and all I'm left with was your last words!" he screamed in a monstrous voice and Ophelia tore her wrists away. She turned and ran but stopped a few meters away when she bumped into her mother. She was pale as a ghost and thin as a twig. Her eyes were sunken in and Ophelia was surprised that she could even stand._

"_You are a horrible daughter." Her mother said in a hoarse voice._

"_What?" Ophelia asked like a scared child._

"_You said you hated your own father. You can't protect Annabelle and you couldn't make me happy after he died." She said accusingly. _

"_I-I'm sorry. I tried my best." She said tears running down her face._

"_You tried your best. Is that all you can come up with? You're a worthless, sniveling child whose hand needs to be held at all times. No wonder your real father left. He left me because he knew what you would become!" Moira shouted and Ophelia covered her ears and ran again but fell. She kept her eyes down but then someone kneeled in front of her. She looked up and saw Annabelle perfectly fine._

"_Annabelle! You're safe! You're alive!" Ophelia almost cried with joy. Annabelle shook her head._

"_I'm not alive. I'm de-" she stopped as her skin slowly got harder and soon she turned to stone. Then she shattered to little pieces before her eyes._

"_ANNABELLE!" Ophelia screamed in grief._

**End Dream Sequence/Real World**

Peter heard Ophelia screaming in her tent and ran there thinking that she was in danger but found that she was strangling herself. Literally. She was still sleeping but her hands were at her throat and she was unconsciously squeezing the life out of herself. Peter rushed to her side and grabbed her wrists.

In her dreams Ophelia was being strangled by her father and was trying to get his hands off her throat but then her mother grabbed her wrists and held them away from her, the same time that Peter grabbed her wrists to stop her from choking herself.

"No! NO! Please stop!" she choked out crying in her sleep.

"Ophelia it's me! Wake up! You're having a nightmare! Wake up!" Peter shouted and her eyes shot open at the sound of his voice. She was still screaming but silenced herself because she was too busy breathing heavily. Peter let go of her wrists and smoothed her hair down. He sat on the hammock and tried to relax her.

"It's okay Ophie. You just had a nightmare." He said worried himself. He has never seen Ophelia this scared before. Never! Her heavy breaths were soon replaced by sobs racking through her body. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. She wrapped her arms around his waist so tightly he felt as if she was trying to squeeze the life out of him. As she cried Peter put his arms around her and rubbed her back.

"Shh, it's okay. You're safe. Nothing is going to hurt you." He said soothingly.

"That's just it! I deserve to be hurt!" She wailed miserably after the sobbing had stopped but they threatened to come back.

"Why on earth would you say that?" Peter asked astonished by her remark.

"I've let everyone down." She started quietly. "My dad, my mum, Annabelle. I couldn't save them. I couldn't do anything. They've all suffered. How come nothing's happened to me?"

"There is nothing you could have done to prevent their pain. Don't add to your own by adding theirs." Peter said wiping a tear that fell.

"My dad…that day he died he promised to teach me how to play cricket. But he got called to work. He left before we got to do anything. I was being stupid and selfish so I blamed him for it."

"Ophie, you were 8." Peter reasoned hoping to make her feel better but it didn't.

"I said 'I hate you Daddy'. Those were the last words I said to him. And now I can never take it back. I was too stupid to say sorry, I was too useless to help my mum, and I was too worthless to protect my own sister. I deserve every bad name I've been called and every misfortune possible!"

"Stop it! You are not worthless! Don't you ever say that again!" Peter shouted shaking her shoulders.

"But it's-" she tried to say 'But it's true!' but was cut off by something warm on her mouth. She saw that Peter had kissed her! The bloody fool (her words, not mine) kissed her! She put her hands on his chest to push him away but couldn't compel herself to do so. This felt…nice. It felt right so she did the only thing a girl in her situation would do.

She kissed him back.

When they broke apart they were breathing heavily and blushing madly. After they regained their breath Peter looked at her solemnly.

"You were a kid. You made mistakes. Ed's a kid and he's made a mistake but that doesn't mean that we love him any less. You aren't responsible for your mother and you did more than your best for Annabelle. I saw how you always protected her from bullies and from any danger. You're a kid. You need to start acting like one. As soon as you get back home I will do anything and everything I can to make sure you can get your childhood back." He said and new tears sprang from Ophelia's eyes, only this time they were tears of joy. He cared enough to promise and she knew he cared enough to deliver.

She gave him a small smile. "How is it that you can be a kid but still be a man?"

He smiled cupping her cheek. "Who says I can't be both?" he planted his lips on hers and she eagerly returned it.

**There it is! They kissed! I have to say that this was a really hard scene to write, plot wise. **

**Review and tell me what you think. Don't worry. I'll show Annabelle and Edmund next chapter. Maybe…**

**Bye!**


	8. Super Important Notice!

**I feel absolutely terrible for doing this but it has to be done.**

**I cannot finish the **_**LWW **_**of this story simply because I feel no more inspiration in doing so. I know like I could do **_**Prince Caspian**_** and **_**The Voyage of the Dawn Treader **_**because I have so many ideas for those but for **_**LWW **_**I feel like I'm going to mess it up. So that's why I am asking anyone who is willing to commit to the LWW portion of the story to come up and take over, otherwise this may not be able to continue further. **

**Please PM me if you are willing to take over. Please, make sure that you're 100% willing to commit to this story and finish this portion of it. I will personally thank you and reward you with previews of every chapter after **_**LWW**_** afterwards. **

**-Noel Ardnek **


	9. Chapter 8

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**Hi! I am WingedHybrid – the new writer for his brilliant story "The Dreamer and the Protector" taking over from Noel Ardnek. I hope enjoy this chapter as much as you have enjoyed the rest of the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters. The story idea isn't mine either. **

Annabelle had been slumped against the tree she had been tied to for what seemed to be forever before Orieus and his troops arrived at the Witch's camp site. Edmund had attempted to shift around the tree trunk to get closer to the injured girl, just to see if she was still alive at the very least, but had only been successful in giving himself rope burns. From where he was tied, he could see the deep wound on her leg, the dark blood standing out against her pale skin, which had only gotten paler since the blood loss. It looked horrible and was obviously infected, from Edmund's limited amount of medical knowledge.

"Annabelle." He tried once again, his voice hoarse. He lowered his voice to a whisper when a dwarf walked past, carrying a rusting axe, and sent him a deadly glare. "Annabelle ... please be okay ... come on ..."

His voice trailed off desperately, his eyes pleading, when the young girl didn't acknowledge him. She just remained silent and still.

The slashing of blades before him, turning Edmund's attention to the area in front of him. His heart thumped heavily in his chest as he awaited the arrival of whoever was coming. He silently hoped that whoever was coming, wasn't an ally of the so-called "Queen of Narnia" - they didn't need more reinforcements. However, all fearful thoughts turned to shock when he saw the towering creature that was a centaur – something he had only read about in books. For a moment, he scolded himself - _'I have seen Witches, talking animals and dwarves, why would I assume Centaur's didn't exist in this world?' _The creatures, obviously parts of an army, that followed attacked the nearest enemies, whilst the centaur stared down at the young children, his eyes scanning from one to the other.

"I am Orieus. You are Edmund Pevensie?" he spoke in a rich graveled voice.

Edmund nodded quickly. "Uh, yes ... and this is Annabelle Greer. She ... She's hurt."

Orieus nodded his face suddenly grave. Raising the hand which he held his sword in, the centaur brought down the weapon, breaking the binds the held the children to the tree. With one swift movement, he had Edmund on his back and was lifting Annabelle from her place. "You must watch her, my King, and hold on tight. It will be a rough ride."

The journey from the Witch's camp to Aslan's wasn't as long as Edmund had expected it to be. Convincing himself the site was days away, he was surprised it was less than 13 hours ride. But Orieus was right – it was a rough ride. Rocks, graveled paths and woodlands blocked an easy travel; the uneven ground and steep drops made it worse. The whole time, Edmund kept one hand grasped tightly onto the leather weapon holsters that criss-crossed on Orieus' back; the other kept a firm grasp on the frighteningly still Annabelle. Now that he was closer to her, he could see that she was breathing but the rise and fall of her chest was unsteady, barely noticeable, worryingly so. Though he didn't know if she could hear him (and he suspected he only did it to convince himself) he whispered comforting words to her, trying to keep things positive.

He told her they were saved; that they were being taken to Aslan – who had to be good if the White Witch feared him. He told her about the Narnians that had been sent to save them, about the satyrs and the centaurs and the talking animals (though she already knew about them). He told her they were going to see their families; that they would all be safe. Edmund was pretty sure that Orieus heard his ramblings to the unconscious girl but he didn't comment on them, something the young boy was grateful for.

When they finally arrived at the campsite the next morning, tired and hungry, Edmund was reluctant to let Annabelle out of his sight. After spending so long together in the clutches of evil, it felt strange not having her around, whether she was awake or not. But he knew she had to be tended to – the last thing he wanted was to cause her any more pain than she was already suffering. A kindly smiling faun took her limp body from his hands, instantly moving her away into the camp, assuming for a medical area. His eyes followed them, hoping that he could find her later on, but he was soon distracted by an approaching figure.

A male lion, standing proud and tall and certainly larger than the lions that Edmund had seen in the zoo – but he was certainly nothing like those caged creatures. In looks, he was the same; in presence, he brought warmth and hope to all those who see him. Instantly, he knew this must be Aslan. The youngest Pevensie son smiled slightly, enough that his healing split lip didn't reopen. It surprised him when Aslan seemed to return the smile – he hadn't known lions could smile.

"Come Edmund, Son of Adam, we have much to discuss."

LINEBREAK

"Ophelia…"

Ophelia shifted in her sleep, the distant voice echoing in her ear. She could feel the realm of sleep leaving her and was persistent against it. The darkness behind her eyelids left way for the light to pass through, succeeding in waking her. But she was stubborn. She clung to her blanket tightly, and buried her head in her pillow. _'Only I don't remember my pillow being so hard…'_ Curiously, she cracked one eye open and instantly saw dark blue fabric (definitely not her pillow or her blankets). Unknowingly, her gaze trailed upwards, continuing on even when the fabric ended and a pale expanse of skin started. Recognition didn't fully hit her until she found wide blue eyes, looking at her with both nervousness and amusement.

Her eyes widened as she realized she was clinging to Peter's tunic and let go quickly, like her hands were on fire. Her cheeks flamed red with embarrassment. It seemed that after Peter comforting her through her fears, they hadn't managed to get back out onto the training field. Although, Ophelia would have to admit, that was probably the best night sleep she'd had in a long time.

"Hi…" she squeaked.

Peter gave her a hesitant smile. "Hello…"

For a long time, neither knew what to say, contented with just staring at each other awkwardly. The bed in which they had slept was rather on the small side for two people so, even with the awkwardness of the situation, both teenagers still found themselves pressed against each other. Ophelia, even now, was half laying on her friend, one hand resting nervously on his rib cage whilst Peter just looked down at her; the arm that she was leaning upon (and had once been curled around her in sleep) was hanging off the edge of the bed – he just didn't know what to do with it anymore. The discomfort between them grew when they realized at some point Susan and Lucy would have gone into the tent to ready for bed and found them asleep together. Only Aslan would know the teasing that would follow at being caught. The only sounds that filled the tent were the tweeting of birds in the distance, and the sound of the Narnians moving just outside the fabric walls.

"Oh for the love of …" Peter muttered under his breath.

Ophelia gave him a confused look but had no chance to say anything else, as Peter had already leant forward and pressed his lips to hers. Just as the first kiss had been to shut her up, this one held the same meaning – not that it made a difference to her as she found herself responding almost instantly. It was firm, almost animalistic as pended frustrations were released, but slowly it escalated into something much more meaningful. The pressure lifted and the movements were soft, barely there. When oxygen was much needed, they pulled apart and stared at each other breathlessly with sparkling eyes, panting heavily. With a sigh, as if all the tension had been released, Ophelia relaxed into Peter's chest, just lying there comfortably.

It took all her will power not to just forget about the day and stay curled up in that bed.

"Peter …" She whispered, "… We should get up, before Susan and Lucy decide to search of us – I'm not ready for that conversation yet."

"You're right." He reluctantly agreed, and made to sit up. Both now in seating positions, the staring competition began again. He reached out and grasped her hand, raising it delicately and placed a chaste kiss to the back in a very King like manner. "We will talk about this later, yes?"

Ophelia nodded, flushed pink and watched closely as her close friend and, possible, love left the girl's tent in search of his own. The girl took a moment to sit in silence and wonder what was happening before she reluctantly stood and began to dress. She chose a light green dress that dipped at the front with a dark leather battle corset over the front that she had found she loved wearing. A leather belt was placed loosely around her waist, her sword comfortably attached.

"Edmund!" Lucy's voice broke loudly and happily through the serene morning, making Ophelia jump in surprise. It took a while for the meaning behind the name to sink in, making the young girl's insides warm instantly and she realized the return of their younger siblings. Silently, she hoped for Annabelle to be okay. Glancing in the mirror she quickly ran her hands through her hair and moved out of the tent. _'I hope she forgives me…'_

Standing, maybe a yard or so away from the tent opening, stood the rest of the Pevensie family, gaze inclined upwards to watch as their brother and the Great Lion made their way down a small hill. He looked tired, slightly paler than she remembered, but apart from his split lip, he was in perfect help.

"What's done is done." Aslan advised loudly and clearly, "There is no need to speak to Edmund of what has past." He seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning to Ophelia, "Your sister is in the medical tent but is perfectly fine. You're allowed to visit, if you wish."

Ophelia's eyes widened in panic. "Why is she in the medical tent? What happened?"

Edmund appeared uncomfortable, sad almost. "She was bitten. Lost a lot of blood – I tried to help, honest I did, but ah … there wasn't much I could do…"

His eyes widened with equal panic and fear when he saw the reaction Ophelia was having. She was pale, not even that rosiness on her cheeks remained; her eyes showing clear pain and worry for her younger sister. She was trembling, if only slightly, and appeared to be completely distant to the real world, lost in the whirling of her thoughts. "Ah! S-she's alive still. I checked. She was breathing. She'll be fine …"

She mumbled a quick thank you, her voice mostly breath, before she spun on her heel and ran as fast as she could towards the medical tent. The Pevensie family stood in place and watched as she moved across the green field, dodging random Narnians that were going about their daily business in preparation of the war that was soon to come. They continued to stare until the last moment, when the hem of her dress disappeared behind the flap of the door.

"How are you feeling?" Susan asked softly, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen.

"I'm … kind of tired …" Edmund answered.

"Go get some rest …" Peter ordered, causing the smiles to drop. Edmund nodded hesitantly, guessing that his brother was still annoyed with him, and turned towards the tent that his elder brother had pointed at. Susan and Lucy gave their brother warning looks, encouraging Peter to make the situation better (and easier) on all of them.

"Oh and Ed …" he continued, causing Edmund to look over his shoulder questioning. Peter smiled slightly in the corner of his mouth. "Try not to wander off."

Edmund smiled happily.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters. The story idea isn't mine either. **

When Annabelle awoke from her blank slumber, the first thing she felt was immense pain shooting down her leg. She winced, clenching her eyes, and tightened her grip around the bed sheets that was tucked in around her. For a moment, she thought she was back home, in her bed, but all too soon, the reality of the situation, where she really was, hit her. She remembered everything: the evacuation to the countryside, the professor's house, the discovery of the magical world in an old wardrobe, the White Witch and, most importantly, the wolf that had attacked her.

With a start, she threw herself up on the bed, forgetting about the pain of her leg. She could only see shadows, darkness. She thought she was still being held captive, still a prisoner. Her heart beat was erratic.

"Annabelle, calm down, please! You're going to hurt yourself!"

Annabelle stopped sharply at the voice; a voice she hadn't heard in what seemed like forever. A voice that most definitely was not that Witch. Frantic, she turned to the voice and felt all the breath leave her at once when her gaze landed on her older sister. Ophelia seemed older than she remembered her to be, different. She looked up at her baby sister from her seat with teary eyes, a watery smile on her face as if she could not quite believe she was really there.

"O-Ophelia?" Annabelle stuttered out, her eyes wide. She prayed this wasn't a trick.

Her older sister let out a sob, before she reached out to grasp her sister's hand tightly. "Anna…I'm so sorry. I didn't want to leave you. I would have gone back to save you if I could but we were trapped and a-after Edmund…And you got hurt, because of me. I'm your older sister. I'm supposed to protect you. Instead, you got kidnapped and some bloody wolf attacked you and I couldn't do anything to stop it. If Orieus hadn't arrived, and if Edmund hadn't of been there…" she trailed off into a sob once more, raising her hand to cover her mouth in her distress.

Annabelle grasped her sister's hand tightly, her own eyes starting to water. Her sister had always been the strong one, the one that continued on despite everything, so to see her cry was heart breaking. "Ophelia…It's not your fault. None of this is, so you don't have to say sorry. If you hadn't have left, you would have been the Witch's prisoner along beside Edmund and me. That would have been no better. I don't blame you and, if Mum knew about this, neither would she…"

When the medical faun came back into the tent, fresh bandages spread out across her hand, she was surprised to see the two sisters crying together whilst babbling at each others. Words never did come out straight if you were weeping. "I have the bandages for my Lady," she smiled hesitantly, "Once dressed, you can join the Kings and Queens for breakfast – I'm sure they are anxious for your arrival."

Annabelle sniffed loudly and smiled weakly at the faun, her bright eyes showing she was so happy to be back. It was an awkward experience getting ready that morning. With her injured leg, she had trouble moving it – Ophelia had to help her dress. From there, she had to be supported out of the tent and led to the other side of the camp, where the Pevensie family were waiting for them.

The four siblings looked up when they saw them approach and smiled widely. Annabelle, slightly flushed, raised a hand and waved weakly. "Good morning…"

Lucy was the first on her feet, hugging the older girl around her waist. "I'm so glad you're back. Edmund said you helped him – is it true? How is your leg?"

"I'm not sure about the helping him bit, but my legs fine. Should heal but I'm not going to be able to walk on it until then." Annabelle explained embarrassed as she awkwardly hugged the girl back.

"Do you want some of my cordial?" Lucy asked.

She cocked her head. "Cordial?"

The child nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Father Christmas gave it to me."

"…Father Christmas?"

Ophelia laughed. "You have a lot to catch up on, my dear little sister, but that can wait until later. To answer your question Lucy, you probably should bring your cordial – we don't know when it would better for Anna to walk."

The girl nodded and obediently rushed to her tent to grab her weapon belt, on which her cordial and dagger were attached. Ophelia helped Annabelle to sit down on one of the plush cushions around the table that had been set up for them, beside Edmund. She made sure to position the injured leg outwards to avoid anymore damage. Annabelle smiled gratefully up at her sister. Ophelia smiled in return and settled herself onto the cushion beside Peter. He smiled at her and, her cheeks red, she smiled in return. Annabelle eyed the two closely, suspicious.

"Are you okay?" Edmund asked his voice low.

Annabelle hummed. "Yes…I think so."

"Good." The two shared a smile.

"I got it!" Lucy cried as she flopped onto her pillow, her cheeks flushed from running, "Father Christmas said only a drop will cure any wound. It should help."

Hesitantly, Annabelle nodded and watched cautiously as Lucy rose above her, uncorking the top of the bottle. She tipped it forward only slightly and Annabelle parted her lips slightly. The liquid hit the back of her throat and she swallowed instinctively, her nose wrinkling.

"Okay…I don't know what that was…but it does not taste right…" she muttered, and reached for a glass of water to get rid of the taste. The others laughed at her.

"Has it worked?"

Annabelle looked at her leg. "I don't know…how do I tell?"

"Try moving it?" Susan suggested.

Bracing herself for a shockwave of pain, Annabelle shifted her leg only slightly, just in case. When nothing was felt, she moved it some more. Giggling, she even wiggled her toes. "I can't feel anything. No pain, nothing. Thank you Lucy."

She beamed proudly. "You're welcome Annabelle."

A silence settled over the Pevensie and Greer family as they entertained themselves by eating the breakfast spread that had been put out for them. They assumed it was magical because, as soon as they finished one plate, it was refilled instantly. At some point, Peter had eaten enough and stood to walk around the small breakfast area, confusing and amusing all except for Ophelia who watched the young man with worried eyes.

Lucy giggled behind her hand. "Narnia's not going to run out of toast Ed."

Edmund smiled around a mouthful of toast and continued eating, ignoring his sister's amused giggles.

"I have to say, they do taste so much better here than back home." Annabelle hummed, stealing a few slices from Lucy's plate for amusement.

"Then you better pack some for the journey." Peter stated, moving to stand at the head of the table, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"We're going home?" Susan asked, confused.

"Well, you five are." Peter corrected, "I promised I'd keep you all safe but there's no reason why I can't stay here and fight."

"You can't tell me what to do Peter Pevensie, or my sister." Ophelia hissed angrily.

"And they need us. All of us." Lucy told him weakly.

"Lucy, Ophelia…it's too dangerous. Edmund and Annabelle were kidnapped, Lucy almost drowned, and you were nearly killed by those wolves." Peter argued.

"Which is why we have to stay…" Edmund's voice was low, quiet. Because the mere idea of Edmund being quiet was new to all of them, the two families went silent and turned their attentions to the young man. In that moment, he seemed older and wiser than the age he was. "I've seen what the White Witch can do…and I've helped her do it, and we can't leave these people behind to suffer for it."

Feeling both sad and proud, Lucy reached out to hold onto Edmund's hand.

Susan sighed and stood up. "Well, I guess that's it then."

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

The elder Pevensie girl grabbed her bow and arrow; both were rested on a stone that was positioned behind him. "To get some practise in."

X

"Annabelle?" Edmund asked while Annabelle sat on a rock facing most of the camp. She had decided that she would have liked to see the sun. During that time that she and Edmund were hostages she thought she would never see it again.

"What is it Ed?" she asked as he nervously took a seat next to her, keeping his head down for good measure. He was sure that if he looked at her directly then he would fumble like crazy.

"Why did you forgive me? When we were with…_her_, before you passed out you said you forgave me. Why?"

"Why not?" she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"I know that the other forgave me, I mean, they're my family, but why you?" He asked, but since he still didn't look at her he didn't notice the faint blush crawling up her cheeks. She didn't want to admit that part of the reason was because she liked him, but then remembered the other reason.

"Because…my dad always had this saying, 'do it now or forever wish you had'. Honestly I thought I was going to die, so why would I spend the last moments of my life hating my best friend?"

"Oh." Edmund said a little disheartened. She only did it because she had too?

Seeing the look on his face Annabelle scooted closer to him, trying to control her own blush. "Edmund, look at me." She said. Reluctantly he did so and calmed down a little when he saw her blush. At least she was as nervous as he was. "For the past year, you haven't exactly been a peach. But deep down I always knew you were a good boy. That's why it was so hard to believe that went over to the witch. Then I realized that you would _never_ have joined her if you knew what she was going to do."

"But I-"

"Nuh-uh! Shh! My turn to talk Pevensie! Even after everything we saw, everything we did, I still knew you were good. That's why I forgave you. Because my best friend, the Edmund I've always liked…as I friend of course…was still there. He was just too scared to come out of hiding so now's his chance to come back. Okay Pevensie?"

After a few moments debating this, Edmund gave a smile and said "Okay Greer."

"Annabelle! Edmund!"

Both turned at the sound of their names. Peter was sitting upon a unicorn at the bottom of the hill with Ophelia beside him on a black mare, swords in their free hand.

"Oreius offered to teach us how to sword fight. Are you up for it?" Peter asked. Edmund smiled. "I'm coming." He stood up, pausing only to look at Annabelle who hadn't moved an inch beside to turn to them, "Are you coming?"

She smiled softly. "Maybe later…I want to stay up here for a bit longer."


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia or any of its characters. The story idea isn't mine either. **

Annabelle did not know how she would react when she had to come face-to-face with the White Witch and her army again, but she hoped she would have some time to mentally prepare herself. Things like that just do not seem to work out for her. No less than ten minutes after she had moved down the Cliffside to join Edmund and Peter in their sword training sessions, had Mr. Beaver come running up beside them, a panicked look on his face.

"You better come quickly." he panted out, "The White Witch and her army have requested a meeting with Aslan – they're on their way here now."

For a moment, she felt as if she had gone numb; completely disconnected from the real world. Her eyes widened and she could only hear her deep, uneasy breathing. She jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder and looked up to see Edmund staring down at her, a worried look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I…I don't know…" she stammered.

He gave her a sympathetic smile, and offered her his hand. After a moment of hesitation, Annabelle accepted the hand, using it to pull herself to her feet.

He squeezed her hand comfortingly. "Come on…"

They lined the tents around Aslan's tent, making a path that would lead the Witch up to her meeting with the Great Lion. Annabelle stood in between Edmund, who had yet to release her hand and she was not going to force him to, and Ophelia, who was clutching onto Peter's arm tightly, biting her bottom lip in worry. Peter was attentively fingering the hilt of his sword, circling his jaw. Susan had her arms wrapped around Lucy's shoulders, keeping her in place. It was obvious they were all nervous about what was to come.

"_Jadis, the Queen of Narnia!_"

Annabelle tensed at the familiar voice, holding into Edmund's hand tighter. Hiding a wince behind clenched teeth, Edmund shuffled closer to his friend's side. With cold eyes, he watched as the disgusting and hideous creatures moved into the crowd, followed by four Cyclops carrying the White Witch on a platform. She was sitting up straight on the chair, her head tilted upward with a cold look on her face. There was silence all around as they watched the platform be settled on the floor, and the tall women stood up, stepping onto the grassy ground.

She spoke clear and strong. "You have traitors in your midst Aslan."Jadis referred to Annabelle as a traitor for the sole reason that she was with him when they were captured.

Ophelia reached out to grasp her sister's free hand tightly.

"Their offence was not against you." Aslan growled. It was clear that he had no time for patience with this woman.

"Have you forgotten the law upon which Narnia was buily?" she questioned, almost mockingly.

"Do not recite the Deep Magic to me Witch." Aslan snapped, "I was there when it was written."

The Witch arched an eyebrow. "Then you remember well that every traitor belongs me– their blood is my property."

In one swooping motion, Peter had drawn his sword and raised it. Although his arm was not steady, his eyes were determined. "Just try and take them then."

Jadis smirked. "You think mere force can deny me my rights...little king?" her tone changed from teasing to serious in a matter of seconds as she turned her attention back to the Great Lion that was glaring down at her from his place, "Aslan knows that if I do not have blood as law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water." She turned her eyes towards Annabelle and Edmund, who involuntarily shivered under her gaze but were unable to look away. She threateningly raised her wand. "Those two will die on the stone table, as is tradition."

"Enough!" Aslan roared over the noise, quieting the scene instantly. He sighed deeply and leveled his stare with the smug looking Witch. He stood a small step backwards and inclined his head towards the tent, "I will talk to you alone."

X

Bored and worried, Edmund picked at the grass, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. Annabelle was resting against his back, distracting herself by watching the reaction of her sister and the eldest Pevensie. They were leant against each other, heads close together, whispering quietly to one another. Ophelia clung to Peter's hands tightly and he gave no resistance. For a moment, she wished she could hear what they were saying.

"Don't worry Ophelia...Aslan won't let anything happen to Annabelle or Edmund," Peter attempted to soothe her; "Oreius and the others went to a lot of trouble to bring them back to us. They need all of us to save Narnia. Have faith."

"But what if he can't?" Ophelia whispered, "She's my baby sister Peter. I can't just let her go."

"Hey," he brushed a finger across her cheek, "They're my family too. I'll do everything in my power to keep them with us. Don't worry."

When the Aslan's tent opened once more nearly half an hour later, the Narnian and Witches' army scrambled to their feet, standing up tall and straight, waiting with bated breath for the verdict. The smirking Witch making her way across the green to her platform did not strike anyone with confidence.

"The Witch has denounced her claim on Adam and Eve's blood." He finally declared loudly.

The Narnians cheered happily, as a feeling of relief swarmed the two young children. They smiled widely, unable to keep it off, as their family shuffled closer, drawing them into hugs. Still, their hands remained attached, as if terrified they'd let go and it would all be a dream.

"How do I know your promise will be kept?" The Witch asked her tone dark.

Something flashed across Aslan's eyes before he roared a defining sound that shocked the Witch into collapsing into her throne. Laughter and cheerfulness was all around them at the announcement and at the action of the Great Lion. It was just further proof that Aslan was much better and stronger than the Witch.

Over the heads of his hugging family members, he glanced at Aslan out of the corner of his eyes. The Great Lion watched the exchange sadly before disappearing into his tent.

Edmund frowned.


End file.
